End of the road for SA's teacher assistant programme as funding dries up
The Department of Basic Education's teacher assistant programme comes to an end after it was introduced in 2020. The programme was not only beneficial to the unemployed youth but to the teachers and the learners in many schools across South Africa.
Image: File
South Africa's Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI), widely known as the teacher assistant programme, has officially ended its fifth phase with no extension planned for December or a new phase 2026 due to a lack of funding.
The programme has provided employment to about 200,000 unemployed youth since its launch in 2020. The last batch of the youth were taken in June this year and their contracts ended last month.
National project manager of BEEI, Lala Maje, confirmed the closure in a video statement aimed at dispelling ongoing rumours about contract extensions. She emphasised that all contracts that expired last month would not be renewed.
"We want to reassure young people that there is no extension into December," Maje said.
She urged participants not to rely on circulating misinformation regarding a potential sixth phase.
The BEEI forms part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PES), introduced to ease the economic hardships worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented through interdepartmental participation involving the Department of Education, Labour and Treasury.
Besides providing income, it offered participants practical training and work experience in roles such as reading and curriculum assistants, ICT assistants, reading champions and non-teaching roles like general school maintenance, and sports activities.
South Africa's Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI), popularly known as the teacher assistant programme has officially ended after five phases, due to funding constraints. This was confirmed by Lala Maje, the national project manager for BEEI.
Image: GCIS
Maje thanked the youth for their contribution, saying the impact they made in schools would remain significant.
"A big, big thank you for coming into our schools and making a mark on those learners and teachers you worked with," she said. “You are not leaving empty. You are leaving with soft skills, accredited training and hard skills that can help you start a business or find other work opportunities.”
Some participants received specialised training, including literacy support and basic infrastructural maintenance, equipping them for entrepreneurial or further employment pathways.
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube highlighted that the programme played a particularly important role in empowering young women across the nearly 20,000 beneficiary schools. Gwarube said the programme had a monthly budget of R795 million, which helped many unemployed since it started in 2020.
She said they are preparing a report on the impact of the programme in schools.
However, the initiative was not without challenges. Many assistants experienced delayed stipend payments, often due to administrative bottlenecks in processing attendance registers. Because the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contributions were deducted, participants are now eligible to claim UIF benefits.
The lack of further funding for BEEI leaves uncertainty for thousands of young people now seeking their next opportunity. Some of the youth who benefited from the programme lauded the government for the opportunity while others lamented the loss of income.-Additional reporting by Sandile Mdadane