While some state schools in the Eastern Cape battle without teachers, only 36 of 651 new graduates funded by the department of basic education have been appointed since January.
And 181 of the 755 recipients of the department’s Funza Lushaka bursary scheme have been hired by KwaZulu-Natal schools.
Of the 4,184 beneficiaries of the bursary who graduated last year, 1,646 have been employed, according to figures disclosed by the department to parliament earlier this month.
A further 1,118 graduates, who qualified as teachers in 2020, have still not been placed.
The overall goal of the bursary scheme, introduced in 2007, is to provide well-qualified teachers “who can teach in nationally identified priority areas”.
Beneficiaries are not required to pay back the money, but are obliged to teach at state schools selected by provincial education departments. They are also expected to work for the same number of years for which they received funding.
The value of the bursary has been capped at almost R115,000 per student this year.
Those likely to receive funding are students keen on teaching agricultural sciences, civil technology, coding, computer applications technology and engineering graphics and design, among others, in grades 7 to 12 after qualifying.
The father of a student from North-West University said his daughter’s application for the bursary was rejected recently. The reason given was “limited funding received from department of education”.
“The response is shocking because North-West University admitted her for studies. We were informed she was admitted on the basis of the bursary granted to her.”
He said he and his wife are unemployed and can’t afford to pay for their daughter’s accommodation and tuition fees.
They [self-funded students] are then absorbed into [governing body] posts at quintile 4 and 5 schools. This is to the real detriment of quintile 1 to 3 schools [poor schools] because then they will always sit with educators who have maths literacy instead of proper maths.
— Chantel King, MP
North-West University education spokesperson Louis Jacobs said the student paid the minimum fees for registration and was therefore allowed to register.
“One is only recognised as a recipient of a bursary once confirmation from the bursar is received.”
The student received funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in 2020 and 2021, but was not funded for 2022.
Jacobs said more than 5,600 Funza Lushaka applications were received from students wanting to study at North-West University, but only 250 could be funded by the department of basic education.
MP Chantel King told parliament on June 8 that self-funded students don’t seem to get appointed to state schools because preference is given to recipients of the Funza Lushaka bursary.
“They [self-funded students] are then absorbed into [governing body] posts at quintile 4 and 5 schools. This is to the real detriment of quintile 1 to 3 schools [poor schools] because then they will always sit with educators who have maths literacy instead of proper maths.”
Prof Loyiso Jita, the dean of the education faculty at the University of the Free State (UFS), said universities screen qualifying students, but the department and provincial officials have the final say.
“Indeed, students apply while admitted and attending classes, only to learn of denial in the middle of the year.”
He said all students who major in languages, business studies, history and life orientation are denied funding.
“I guess a student who finds out about the negative outcome will simply have to fork out the money themselves or enter into a payment plan with the university.”
Elijah Mhlanga, spokesperson for the department of basic education, said provincial departments are responsible for hiring and placing Funza Lushaka bursary holders in schools.
I guess a student who finds out about the negative outcome will simply have to fork out the money themselves or enter into a payment plan with the university.
— Prof Loyiso Jita
“Graduate placement is a continuous process that is influenced by demand, schooling phase and subject choice. A sizeable number of student teachers are funded through the NSFAS and provincial education department bursaries, while many are self-funded.”
He said provincial education departments also have a responsibility to place educators who are redundant at their schools into vacant posts as they are permanently employed.
A slowdown in the teacher recruitment and placement process because of Covid-19 resulted in 1,118 graduates from 2020 not being appointed.
“Working with and through provincial education departments, the department continues to set up and implement a system that will assist in focusing, monitoring and giving support to them as they recruit and hire qualified graduates into the teaching profession.”
He said the bursary is awarded to applicants based on their academic performance and priority subject area needs determined by provincial education departments.
“As this is a merit bursary, all new applicants are screened and profiled during the selection process according to their academic performance. The most eligible applicants who fall within the number of bursaries that can be awarded will be awarded bursaries.”
Mhlanga said the department received more than 110,115 applications for the bursary for this year, including new applicants and existing bursary recipients who have to reapply annually.
“However, only 11,800 could be considered,” he said.
Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Mali Mtima said the slow placement rate of Funza Lushaka graduates is because they do not meet “the profiles of the existing vacancies”.
“The province also took a conscious decision of proportionately distributing vacancies to all unemployed groupings, including surplus educators, Funza Lushaka and Matthew Goniwe bursary holders and self-funded graduates.”
The KwaZulu-Natal education department did not respond to media queries.
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