The basic education department received more than 6 million applications from 940,000 applicants for its school assistant programme, the department revealed this week.
More than 280,000 young people have been hired and placed in schools around the country since the start of the month, with the department saying it had a comprehensive shortlisting process.
The department announced in September that it would open a second phase of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) in basic education, recruiting unemployed youth as teaching and general assistants.
Among the roles they have been given, are reading champions, eCadres, child and youth care workers (CYCW), and handymen.
After contracts were signed, the recruits were given relevant job descriptions and assigned to mentors, whose task is to provide guidance, advice, and support for the duration of the contracts. The assistants are currently undergoing orientation at the schools they’ve been allocated to, the department said.
The program will run until March 2022.
The department said it had noted “some unsuccessful candidates had raised concerns around the appointment and subsequent placement of successful candidates” and urged all those who have complaints about the process to contact them.
You can file your complaints on the Presidential Hotline: 17737 or send an email to president@presidency.gov.za.
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