Young graduates trip over themselves for rural posts

Young graduates keen to teach in rural schools have swamped Teach SA with applications to teach science, English and maths.

The NGO, which places graduates in rural and other inadequately resourced schools, received 821 applications last year but could place only 9% of the applicants.

But this year, having received much-needed funding, the organisation was able on Friday to place 26 graduates in schools in the five provinces in which the mine operates.

When the NGO was formed in 2008, its CEO, Mothomang Diaho, said she thought that young people would not want to work in far-flung rural areas but instead she has found that the young "remind us that someone gave them a leg up and they want to give back".

The graduates sign up for two years but more than two-thirds continue for longer.

Though the NGO normally does not place new graduates in Grade 12 classes it said that it had been forced to because of the shortage of physical science teachers.

Richard Masemola, the organisation's director, said that the placement programme has been so successful that there had been an increase of up to 47% in pupils' marks.

Diaho said the programme had served purposes for which it was not intended.

"In one case, we noticed a shortage of textbooks at a school in Limpopo, unrelated to the current crisis. We put the need on our website and a Canadian doctor made money available for books."

Masemola said the organisation would fill more posts if provincial departments of education made more funded posts available.