As of 2024, the total number of teaching staff in South Africa amounted to roughly 459,993. The largest number was in Gauteng, with close to 98,140 educators. KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape followed with around 96,020 and 61,670 teachers, respectively.

As of 2024, the total number of teaching staff in South Africa amounted to 459,993. Of those, the majority were educators in public education entities, with 412,638. By contrast, independent education teachers represented around 11 percent of the cumulative number of teachers.

The overall aim of the USAID/SA basic education program is to improve primary grade reading outcomes by building teacher effectiveness and strengthening classroom and school management. This is being accomplished through support to innovative, local interventions that have a demonstrated capacity for scale-up. The main USAID/SA program is the School Capacity and Innovation Program (SCIP), which also leverages significant private sector resources, amplifying the impact of USAID’s investment in the South African education system. SCIP is co-funded by The ELMA Foundation and J.P. Morgan and designed in collaboration with the South African Department of Basic Education. SCIP supports local South African models or interventions that work directly with teachers and school management teams in innovative ways in order to improve their practice as instructional leaders and managers. SCIP is aligned to the USAID Global Education Strategy (2011–2015) which supports interventions to improve learning outcomes with a focus on primary grade reading as a measure of performance. In addition to seeking initiatives that demonstrate innovation and impact, sustainability and scalability are key components of the SCIP program. The Strengthening Teaching of Early Language and Literacy (STELLAR) Program improves the language and literacy skills of Grade R children from disadvantaged communities in South Africa by training and supporting Grade R teachers. Grade R (also called the Reception Year) is the year of schooling before Grade 1.

The overall aim of the USAID/SA basic education program is to improve primary grade reading outcomes by building teacher effectiveness and strengthening classroom and school management. This is being accomplished through support to innovative, local interventions that have a demonstrated capacity for scale-up. The main USAID/SA program is the School Capacity and Innovation Program (SCIP), which also leverages significant private sector resources, amplifying the impact of USAID’s investment in the South African education system. SCIP is co-funded by The ELMA Foundation and J.P. Morgan and designed in collaboration with the South African Department of Basic Education. SCIP supports local South African models or interventions that work directly with teachers and school management teams in innovative ways in order to improve their practice as instructional leaders and managers. SCIP is aligned to the USAID Global Education Strategy (2011–2015) which supports interventions to improve learning outcomes with a focus on primary grade reading as a measure of performance. In addition to seeking initiatives that demonstrate innovation and impact, sustainability and scalability are key components of the SCIP program. The Teacher Assessment Resources for Monitoring and Improving Instruction for Foundation Phase (TARMII-FP) will provide teachers with a computer-based assessment tool that will help teachers to more effectively address individual student learning needs in literacy. TARMII-FP is implemented by the Human Sciences Research Council and is co-funded by USAID, the ELMA Foundation, and J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, with non-financial support from the South African Department of Basic Education. This $1.5 million project, part of the SCIP, is designed to improve primary grade reading outcomes by building teacher effectiveness and strengthening classroom and school management. Running from July 2012 to June 2015, TARMII-FP will enable teachers to draw upon a database of thousands of reading activities and test items to generate assessments and homework exercises tailored for their students. The tool will allow teachers to record and analyze student results.

As of 2022, the total number of schools in South Africa amounted to nearly 24,900. The majority of these schools were public entities, covering around 90.8 percent of the total number of schools. On the other hand, only 2,282 schools were independent educational institutions. It is worth noting that KwaZulu-Natal was the province with the highest number of schools as of the said year.

KwaZulu-Natal has the largest number of teachers, Gauteng ranked second

Besides the number of schools in KwaZulu-Natal, the province also had the highest number of teachers, aggregating to around 96,000. Over 95 percent of them taught in public schools. Moreover, although the Gauteng province followed Eastern Cape and Limpopo in number of schools, it ranked second in number of teachers, totaling 93,453. Public educational institutions employed most of the teaching staff. The province also had the highest count of independent educators. Generally, in each region, the increasing trend in the number of teachers meets the growing volume of student enrollees.

Almost half of the unemployed have less than matric    

Unemployment was more prevalent among individuals with lower educational attainment. As of 2022, slightly over 50 percent of the unemployed individuals in the country had an academic level below matric. On the other hand, tertiary graduates made up 2.8 percent of the unemployed. Moreover, the share of adults over 20 years old who completed grade 12 reached 35.9 percent in 2021, making it the most achieved educational status that year. By comparison, 14.6 percent of student attained post-school education. Between 2012 and 2019, South Africa’s gross tertiary enrollment ratio increased from just over 19 percent to around 24 percent.

Abstract

The SACMEQ III Project commenced in 2006 and was completed during 2011. The SACMEQ III data collection was implemented in fifteen SACMEQ Ministries of Education (Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania (Mainland), Tanzania (Zanzibar), Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). The SACMEQ III Project followed the general research direction of the first two SACMEQ Projects by focusing on an examination of the conditions of schooling in relation to achievement levels of learners and their teachers in reading, and mathematics. The focus was expanded to cover the learners’ levels of basic knowledge about HIV and AIDS. The SACMEQ III Project involved data collections from around 61,000 learners, 8,000 teachers, and 2,800 school principals.

Geographic coverage

National Coverage

Analysis unit

• Pupils
• Schools
• Teachers

Universe

The desired target population for the SACMEQ III study was defined as "All pupils at Grade 6 level in 2007 (at the first week of the eighth month of the school year) who were attending registered mainstream primary schools". This definition used a grade-based description (and not an age-based description) of pupils because an age-based description would have required the collection of data across many grade levels due to the high incidences of "late starters" and grade repetition in SACMEQ school systems.The excluded population consists of those schools and pupils that have been excluded from the desired population to give the defined target population.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The desired target population definition for the SACMEQ III Project was exactly the same (except for the year) as was employed for the SACMEQ I and II Projects. This consistency was maintained in order to make valid cross-national and cross-time estimates of "change" in the conditions of schooling and the quality of education.

The SACMEQ III data were selected using a stratified two-stage cluster sample design based on the technique of a lottery method of sampling proportional to size, with the assistance of SAMDEM software (Sylla et al., 2003). At the first stage, schools were selected in each region (province) in proportion to the number of pupils in that region in the defined target population. The main reason for choosing Region as the explicit stratification variable was that the SACMEQ Ministries of Education wanted to have education administration regions as "domains" for the study. That is, the Ministries wanted to have a reasonably accurate sample estimates of population characteristics for each region. At the second stage, a simple random sample of 25 pupils was taken within each selected school (in the Seychelles, all Grade 6 pupils in all 25 schools in the island country were tested).

In educational survey research the primary sampling units that are most often employed (schools) are rarely equal in size. This variation causes difficulties with respect to the control of the total sample size when schools are selected with equal probability at the first stage of a multi-stage sample design. One method of obtaining greater control over the total sample size is to stratify the schools accorging to size and then select samples of schools within each stratum. A more widely applied alternative is to employ probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling of schools within strata followed by the selection of a simple random sample size and results in epsem sampling of pupils within strata. The lottery method of PPS selection was implemented for the SACMEQ Projects with the assistance of the SAMDEM software (Sylla et al, 2003).

In order to avoid selection bias, precautions were taken to ensure that school heads and teachers did not have any influence over the sampling procedures within schools. This is because school heads and teachers might have felt they had a vested interest in selecting particular kinds of pupils, and this could have resulted in major distortions of sample estimates (Brickell, 1974). The planned South African sample was 400 schools and 10 000 learners. The achieved sample comprised of 392 schools and 9 071 learners.

Sampling deviation

Reasons for non-participation by the eight sampled schools ranged from schools that had since either ceased to exist or were merged into other schools, one school had since phased out the primary section, another school had a tragedy of learners who lost their lives in a road accident a day before the data collection and few other reasons that were considered valid. Because South Africa had actually oversampled schools, replacements were considered not necessary on the advice of the SACMEQ Coordinating Centre.Similarly, learners who were sampled in the sampled schools but were not available on the day of data collection were not replaced.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

• Apart from pupil achievement scores, SACMEQ studies are renowned for collecting a wide range of information about pupils, teachers, classrooms, school heads, schools, and school communities. For the SACMEQ III study, four main questionnaires (pupil, teacher, school head, and school information) were used.
• It is important to note that SACMEQ questionnaires were subjected to careful thought, thorough examination, and stringent refinement before they were administered. For example, for the SACMEQ III study, the questionnaires were developed by a committee of experts consisting of members drawn from all SACMEQ countries, SCC staff, IIEP staff, and private consultants, following: (a) Field experiences gained from the SACMEQ II study, (b) Recommendations arising from analyses of SACMEQ II data, and (c) policy questions raised by SACMEQ country ministries of education. These questionnaires were refined by the SACMEQ scientific committee, then piloted in each SACMEQ country and refined further before they were administered.
• One important innovation in the development of questionnaires for the SACMEQ III study was introduction of a “Homework form” for pupils to take home. This consisted of questions to which the pupil might not know the answers (for example, parental education, estimates of travel distance to school, home possessions, whether or not their biological parents were alive) that parents, family members, or guardians could help in filling in. This considerably reduced the number of missing values in the SACMEQ III study compared with previous SACMEQ studies.
• Materials were translated into Kiswahili (Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar) and Portuguese (Mozambique).

Cleaning operations

Data Entry was done using WinDEM (Windows Data Entry Manager) Software. Preliminary data cleaning involved checks on data to ensure it was clean before it was sent to the SACMEQ Coordinating Centre (SCC) for further checks an analysis and calculation of sampling weights. (See p12 of the NRC Manual - provided as external resources - for more detail on the process.)

Data Checking and Data Entry The South African NRT received the completed materials from the provincial coordinators and kept these safely while they were being checked, entered into computers, and then “cleaned” to remove errors prior to data analysis. Datachecking involved the “hand editing” of data collection instruments by a team of trained staff. The staff checked that: (i) All expected questionnaires, tests, and forms had been received, (ii) The identification numbers on all instruments were complete and accurate, and (iii) certain logical linkages between questions made sense (for example, they had to verify if the two questions to School Heads concerning “Do you have a school library?” and “How many books do you have in your school library?” were answered consistently). Trained data capturers, supervised by the NRT, entered data into computers using the WINDEM software that was supplied by the SACMEQ Coordinating Centre. Data were “double entered” in order to monitor accuracy. Individual data capturers worked for maximum of six hours per day, and the whole data entry operation for South Africa was estimated to involve around 75 person days of data entry work.

Data Cleaning During December 2007 the SACMEQ Coordinating Centre organized a training programme for all NRTs. The teams were led step-by-step through the required data cleaning procedures that they were to follow in their respective countries. At individual country level, NRTs followed a “cyclical” process whereby data files were cleaned by the NRT and then emailed to the Coordinating Centre for checking and then emailed back to the NRC for further cleaning. The entire data cleaning process lasted seven months, starting in January 2008 and was complete by 31 July 2008. This was much shorter than the 18 months taken to clean the data for the SACMEQ II project.

To clean the data, using the WINDEM software, the NRTs followed specific directions to (i) Identify major errors in the sequence of identification numbers, (ii) Cross-check identification numbers across files (for example, to ensure that all learners were linked with their own Reading and Mathematics teachers), (iii) Ensure that all schools listed on the original sampling frame also had valid data collection instruments and vice-versa, (iv) Check for “wild codes” that occurred when some variables had values that fell outside pre-specified reasonable limits, and (v) Validate that variables used as linkage devices in later file merges were available and accurate.

Merging When data cleaning was complete, the NRT

South Africa's education landscape is dominated by public schools, which account for over 90 percent of the country's nearly 25,000 educational institutions. As of 2024, there are 22,381 public schools compared to 2,469 independent schools. This stark contrast highlights the government's significant role in providing education to the nation's youth and underscores the challenges faced in ensuring quality education across such a vast network of schools. Regional disparities in school distribution and staffing KwaZulu-Natal leads the nation with 6,030 schools, followed by the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. However, when it comes to teaching staff, Gauteng takes the top spot with 98,140 educators, despite having fewer schools than KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. This disparity suggests varying student-to-teacher ratios across provinces, potentially impacting educational quality and outcomes. The concentration of independent school teachers in Gauteng also indicates a more diverse educational landscape in the province. Education's impact on employment prospects The distribution of schools and teachers across South Africa has far-reaching implications for the country's workforce. As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate stood at 32.1 percent, with individuals having less than a matric education constituting the largest portion of the unemployed. In contrast, university graduates had the lowest unemployment rate at approximately 10 percent. This stark difference underscores the critical importance of accessible, quality education in improving employment prospects and addressing South Africa's persistent unemployment challenges.

The overall aim of the USAID/SA basic education program is to improve primary grade reading outcomes by building teacher effectiveness and strengthening classroom and school management. This is being accomplished through support to innovative, local interventions that have a demonstrated capacity for scale-up. The main USAID/SA program is the School Capacity and Innovation Program (SCIP), which also leverages significant private sector resources, amplifying the impact of USAID’s investment in the South African education system. SCIP is co-funded by The ELMA Foundation and J.P. Morgan and designed in collaboration with the South African Department of Basic Education. SCIP supports local South African models or interventions that work directly with teachers and school management teams in innovative ways in order to improve their practice as instructional leaders and managers. SCIP is aligned to the USAID Global Education Strategy (2011–2015) which supports interventions to improve learning outcomes with a focus on primary grade reading as a measure of performance. In addition to seeking initiatives that demonstrate innovation and impact, sustainability and scalability are key components of the SCIP program. The goal of the kaMhinga Literacy Project is to demonstrate that the combination of teacher training and community-based teacher support can sustainably achieve primary grade reading levels at a 60% learner literacy level. This will be done through activities aimed at developing the capacity of teachers. Two assessments are reported per year: a baseline assessment completed in February and a final assessment completed in November. To date, a total of three assessments will be reported – Baseline February 2013, Final November 2013 and Baseline February 2014.

Description: This data set (School questionnaire grade 8 - BCG) contains the responses of the principal when asked questions referring to school characteristics, parental involvement, grade 8 teaching and teachers of mathematics and science, student behaviour, resources and technology. 265 Schools were sampled accross South Africa and 10600 students (administered). This data set has 253 cases and 127 variables. Abstract: In November 2002, about 9000 grade 8 learners from South African public schools participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). South Africa was one of 50 countries (and educational systems) that participated in this study. In TIMSS the students completed achievement tests in mathematics and science and answered questions on their home background, prior experiences and attitudes towards mathematics and science. Mathematics and science teachers completed questionnaires on, among other aspects, their preparation to teach, their teaching styles, professional development and attitudes towards science and mathematics. . This questionnaire was completed by the principals of the schools and they were asked questions pertaining to school characteristics, parental involvement, grade 8 teaching and teachers of mathematics and science, student behaviour, resources and technology

Goal 4Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for allTarget 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomesIndicator 4.1.1: Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sexSE_TOT_PRFL: Proportion of children and young people achieving a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics (%)Indicator 4.1.2: Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education)SE_TOT_CPLR: Completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education level (%)Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary educationIndicator 4.2.1: Proportion of children aged 24-59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sexiSE_DEV_ONTRK: Proportion of children aged 36−59 months who are developmentally on track in at least three of the following domains: literacy-numeracy, physical development, social-emotional development, and learning (% of children aged 36-59 months)Indicator 4.2.2: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sexSE_PRE_PARTN: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex (%)Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including universityIndicator 4.3.1: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sexSE_ADT_EDUCTRN: Participation rate in formal and non-formal education and training, by sex (%)Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurshipIndicator 4.4.1: Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skillSE_ADT_ACTS: Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by sex and type of skill (%)Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situationsIndicator 4.5.1: Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregatedSE_GPI_PTNPRE: Gender parity index for participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), (ratio)SE_GPI_TCAQ: Gender parity index of trained teachers, by education level (ratio)SE_GPI_PART: Gender parity index for participation rate in formal and non-formal education and training (ratio)SE_GPI_ICTS: Gender parity index for youth/adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill (ratio)SE_IMP_FPOF: Immigration status parity index for achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional skills, by numeracy/literacy skills (ratio)SE_NAP_ACHI: Native parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_LGP_ACHI: Language test parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_TOT_GPI: Gender parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_TOT_SESPI: Low to high socio-economic parity status index for achievement (ratio)SE_TOT_RUPI: Rural to urban parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_ALP_CPLR: Adjusted location parity index for completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education levelSE_AWP_CPRA: Adjusted wealth parity index for completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education levelSE_AGP_CPRA: Adjusted gender parity index for completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education levelTarget 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracyIndicator 4.6.1: Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sexSE_ADT_FUNS: Proportion of population achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional skills, by sex, age and type of skill (%)Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable developmentIndicator 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessmentTarget 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for allIndicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of serviceSE_ACS_CMPTR: Schools with access to computers for pedagogical purposes, by education level (%)SE_ACS_H2O: Schools with access to basic drinking water, by education level (%)SE_ACS_ELECT: Schools with access to electricity, by education level (%)SE_ACC_HNDWSH: Schools with basic handwashing facilities, by education level (%)SE_ACS_INTNT: Schools with access to the internet for pedagogical purposes, by education level (%)SE_ACS_SANIT: Schools with access to access to single-sex basic sanitation, by education level (%)SE_INF_DSBL: Proportion of schools with access to adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities, by education level (%)Target 4.b: By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countriesIndicator 4.b.1: Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships by sector and type of studyDC_TOF_SCHIPSL: Total official flows for scholarships, by recipient countries (millions of constant 2018 United States dollars)Target 4.c: By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing StatesIndicator 4.c.1: Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by education leveliSE_TRA_GRDL: Proportion of teachers who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (e.g. pedagogical training) pre-service or in-service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country, by sex and education level (%)

Abstract

Leadership for literacy is an education research project led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, JET Education Services, the University of South Africa and the Department of Basic Education in South Africa. The project focuses on the under-explored area of high performing rural and township schools in South Africa. The specific aims of the project were to: Identify exceptional rural and township primary schools Gain new insights into school leadership and management (SLM) practices that support high achievement in these schools Develop a new SLM instrument that captures the behaviour and practices of school teachers and principles in challenging school contexts Determine the predictive validity of this SLM instrument Establish early grade reading norms and benchmarks of SA learnings in challenging contexts

Geographic coverage

The data covers schools in three South African provinces: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo

Analysis unit

Individuals and institutions

Universe

The study covered grade 3 and grade 6 learners in the sampled schools, and principals, teachers and schools in the 8 schools selected for the case studies.

Kind of data

Qualitative and quantitative data

Sampling procedure

A purposeful school sampling approach was used to identify 30 exceptional rural and township primary schools in South Africa. Three provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo) were chosen to represent different levels of administrative functionality: Gauteng (a highly functional administration), KwaZulu-Natal (medium functionality) and Limpopo (low functionality). System-wide low stakes testing data, the Annual National Assessments were used to identify top performing primary schools in these regions. This information was corroborated against a large dataset of "good" schools compiled by RESEP of from recommendations by stakeholders such as district officials, school principals and administrative clerks, education related NGOs, and unions. 30 schools which performed less well but were located in the same geographic locations as the higher performing pairs were also included in the sample. The schools in the final sample were also selected based on language, namely Sepedi, Xitsonga or Zulu needed to be their language of instruction or the dominant student language in the school.

Mode of data collection

Other [oth]

Research instrument

Survey instruments included literacy test sheets, questionnaires to collect contextual information, and school management and leadership questionnaires.

In 2024, KwaZulu-Natal had the largest amount of students in South Africa, with close to 2.9 million students in the province. Gauteng and the Limpopo followed with around 2.7 million and 1.8 million learners, respectively. On the other hand, the Northern Cape had the lowest number of students in the country.

As of 2024, the number of schools in South Africa amounted to more than 24,800. The majority of the schools were located within KwaZulu-Natal, reaching 6,030 in total. The Eastern Cape and Limpopo followed with 5,295 and 3,823 schools, respectively.