The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has put a proposal to the provincial legislature for an introduction of teacher assistants in school. On Tuesday the DA put a motion in the house for consideration which proposes that teachers get their own individual assistants to help them with the workload they face in teaching in public schools.Presenting the motion‚ DA MPL Glenda Steyn said teachers in the province experienced high workloads and levels of stress."Introducing teacher's assistants in schools will help to improve the quality of pass rates in township and rural schools. This proposal seeks to provide support to teachers and in doing so promotes excellence in our schools. Many teachers will support this proposal as it will reduce their workload. The education system will improve and we will receive better outcomes‚" Steyn said."A teacher’s assistant in the classroom will plug this gap as well as take some of the huge load off the teacher to enable greater attention be given to the pursuit of excellence in our classrooms."This proposal has multiple benefits. The teacher will have more time to prepare and present stimulating lessons‚ the learner will have someone by her side to assist and help surmount obstacles and the teacher's assistant will get experience in the real world and real classroom."Speaking to TMG Digital afterwards‚ Steyn elaborated on the proposal."If there is a child in class who is struggling with something‚ the teacher's assistant will be able to assist the child while the teacher is teaching the whole class."Teacher assistants will be able to help kids that do not get the full attention of the teacher because the teacher has such a large class. The larger the class‚ the more you need somebody else to assist."Teachers assistants will also be able to help with some of the marking of the exam papers‚ particularly the simplest things. As they do the marking and help the teacher‚ it will give them experience for when they become teachers themselves‚" she said.The African National Congress rejected the proposal‚ as did the Economic Freedom Fighters.Teacher assistants are already commonly used in independent schools and crèches to help with the workload. - TMG Digital..