How To Become A Teacher In South Africa

Teaching is a noble profession that requires passion, commitment, tolerance, perseverance, character and the dedication to make a difference in the lives of a diverse group of young and older children, depending on your choice of phase specialization.

This profession will afford you the opportunity to nurture and mould young and growing minds and to develop a variety of vital lifelong skills in children.

Teaching Qualifications In South Africa

Acquiring a teaching qualification in South Africa is one of the fastest ways to become a professional teacher in South Africa. Anyone who qualifies can teach a course in South Africa at a vocational or teaching school.

Let begin with the teaching qualifications in South Africa and how to attain them ;

Diploma In Teaching

A diploma in teaching is a qualification that is usually awarded through a technical or vocational school. This qualification in education usually takes 18 months in South Africa.

Bachelor of Education

This qualification involves pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in education for a period of 4 years depending on the plan you select for your studies. You will have to make this choice in grade 12 and commit for the next four years. While this automatically qualifies you to teach in South Africa, you can always follow it up with a two year’s honors masters and a doctoral. This is advisable if you plan to teach in tertiary institutions.

PGCE Postgraduate Certificate In Education

This option is a further step from the bachelor’s degree and is most preferred if you would like to specialize in specific subjects. The Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) has to be in the same subjects you chose in your 4-year degree. Generally, you qualify to be a professional high school teacher in a specific subject if you take this route.

What are the teaching Phases In South Africa

Teaching phases are the type of teaching qualifications and the age group an educator is likely to teach. Before you start teaching, you’ll need to remember the particular age group you prefer working with. Find below the types of phases in South Africa;

  • Foundation phase: (±5 to 9-year olds): Grades R – 3
  • Intermediate phase: (±10 to12-year olds): Grades 4 – 6
  • Senior phase: (±13 to 15-year olds): Grades 7 – 9
  • Further Education and Training (FET) phase: (±16 to 18-year olds): Grades 10 – 12

If you choose to teach IntermediateSenior or the FET phase, you can choose the subjects you want to teach. These subjects include languages, mathematics, the sciences, technology, business and management, and the humanities field.

List Of Teaching Schools In South Africa

Teaching schools are good or outstanding schools that play an important role in a school-led system, working with others to provide high-quality training and support for school improvement in their local area. co-ordinating and delivering high-quality, school-based initial teacher training (ITT).

Below are the list of Teaching Schools in South Africa

Wits University – Education

Unisa – Education

Lyceum College – Teaching Education

MANCOSA – PGCE in Further Education and Training Teaching

Rosebank College – IIE’s Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching degree

SANTS Private Higher Education Institution

UJ – Faculty of Education

Stellenbosch University – Education

UKZN – School of Education

NWU North-West University – Education

University of Pretoria – Faculty of Education

UWC – Faculty of Education

Walter Sisulu University – Education

Where Can I Study Teaching Part Time ?

If you dream of becoming a teacher in South Africa but do not have the funds or time to attend a full time university course then studying teaching part time is the best option to choose from. You can find the schools in South Africa that offer teaching courses as part time or distance learning;

University Of South Africa UNISA

Lyceum College – Diploma in Grade R Teaching

Central University Of Technology

Cornerstone Institute

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS for the BEd programmes

 A valid National Senior Certificate (NSC) with admission for degree purposes.

 Minimum APS of 26, excluding Life Orientation.

 A Bachelor’s degree endorsement (the minimum entry requirements to study towards a degree) does not guarantee
admission to the BEd.

 Preliminary admission is based on the results obtained in the final Grade 11 examination.
Final admission is based on the final Grade 12 results.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS : National Certificate (vocational) (NCV)
Subject to institutional admission requirements, the minimum admission requirement to Bachelor’s degree programme is a
National Certificate (Vocational) Level 4 issued by the Council for General and Further Education and Training. The minimum
legislative requirements for admission to a Bachelors’ degree include the achievement of:

 Three (3) fundamental subjects between 60-69% – including English as language of learning and teaching.

 Three vocational subjects from the designated list between 70-79%.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS for applicants holding the National Senior Certificate for Adults (NASCA) or the Amended Senior Certificate (SC(a)) for qualifications in the Faculty of Education.

The B-degree endorsement is a legal requirement to be admitted into the undergraduate programmes in the Faculty of Education. Thus for both the NASCA and SC(a) for admission to a programme in the Faculty of Education the Senate Discretionary Approval process will be followed.

Applications will be dealt with by the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee for recommendation to the Faculty Board.
Faculty Board will then refer the approved applications to Senate for Senate Discretionary approval.

Foundation Phase In Teaching Grade R

Grade R (also known as the Reception Year or the School Readiness Year) is the year before a child starts with Grade 1. Grade R is regarded as the most important year in a child’s pre-school life, as it is the year in which the child prepares for formal schooling.

The Foundation Phase ranges from Grade R (the reception year) to Grade 3.

In order to become a Foundation Phase teacher, you need one of the following qualifications:

  • a Bachelor of Education: Foundation Phase Teaching (B.Ed. Foundation Phase) OR
  • a Bachelor degree other than a B.Ed. plus a Post-graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE), specialising in Foundation Phase teaching.

Where to obtain foundation qualification for teaching

Embury Institute for Higher Education

University Of South Africa

Wits University

College Of Cape Town

Rosebank College

North West University

Now You have your qualifications, what next ?

To practice officially in South Africa as a teacher, you have to register with SACE : South African Council for Educators.

This is a requirement per Section 21 of the South African Council for Educator’s Act that you will have to fulfill before you are appointed to a teaching post and regardless of what phase you would like to teach.

South African Council of Educators (SACE) will require you submit a fully filled application form, present your identity card, an up-to-date police clearance certificate and pay the registration fee. The registration fee is usually around R200 for South African citizens and R400 for non-South African citizens.

In addition to those three, to apply for SACE registration, non-South Africans will have to submit;

Proof of employment by a school in South Africa

A work permit allowing you to teach in South Africa

An evaluation report for employment in education obtained from the Department of Basic Education: Education Qualifications and Program sector

An evaluation report from SAQA

Proof of permanent residence in South Africa

Non-South African identity document

The SACE then vets your application and may investigate claims you disclose before you are approved to teach in South Africa. You will be given a SACE registration number that uniquely identifies your registration and status.

What requirements are needed for teaching?

Every state requires that public school teachers be licensed by completing education requirements and passing examinations. A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement for licensure. Elementary teachers hold bachelor’s degrees in education, while high school teachers have degrees in a subject area.

How long does it take to study teaching in South Africa?

To study to become a teacher at UCT, you will need to complete a bachelor’s degree (3 or 4 years’ study) followed by a one-year full-time Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE is a teaching qualification). There are four PGCEs: Foundation Phase; Intermediate Phase; Senior Phase-FET; FET.

How much does a teacher earn in South Africa?

Using data from salary database PayScale, the salary range for primary school teachers in South Africa is between R80,000 and R275,000 with the median sitting at R177,500. For high school teachers, pay increases, ranging between R120,000 and R300,000, with the median sitting at R200,000.

What are the 3 types of education?

There are three main types of education, namely, Formal, Informal and Non-formal.

What are the requirements for teaching in South Africa?

Choose teaching as a career! You may follow one of two routes in becoming a teacher, namely: a four-year Bachelor of Education degree (B.Ed.); a three-or four-year Bachelor’s degree, followed by a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).