Licence To Operate As A Teacher In South Africa

Are you a qualified teacher and want to teach in South Africa? You must register with the South African Council for Educators (SACE).

Section 21 of the South African Council for Educators Act, 2000 requires that:

  • every educator contemplated by the Act must register with the Council before appointment to a teaching post; and
  • no person may be employed as an educator by an employer unless that person is registered with the Council.

If you have foreign qualifications, they must be evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) before you register with SACE.

In addition, kindly note that SAQA does not evaluate qualifications for the purpose of employment in specific work areas. In particular, to be employed as teacher in South Africa, the qualifications and academic transcripts have to be submitted to the Department of Basic Education (Section: Educator Qualifications and Programmes) where the qualifications will be evaluated for employment in education. The applicant will be informed in writing of the outcome. Your qualification must be recognised for employment in education before you register with SACE.

If your application is successful, SACE will register and issue you with a registration certificate.

What you should do

Complete the application form and submit it to SACE with the following documents:

  • certified copies of your professional diploma(s) and/or degree certificate(s)
  • certified copy of your identity document
  • registration fee

Non-South African citizens must include the following:

  • an evaluation report from SAQA
  • an evaluation report for employment in education from the Department of Basic Education:Educator Qualifications and Programmes section.
  • a work permit stating that they are permitted to teach in South Africa
  • proof of permanent residence and non-South African identity document
  • proof of employment or pending employment by a school in South Africa.

For more information regarding registration, provisional registration, removal from the register and reregistration visit SACE’s website: www.sace.org.za.