Okay. here goes. references up front: this is from a two-part study i co-produced for the UNESCO Institute for Education Planning. Part 1 was a desk-based policy mapping and review of existing research. I'm including insights from both.
can email docs if anyone wants. https://twitter.com/AviceBennerCho/status/1286382244228202497

Big finds from the desk review:
- low motivation for teachers esp in poorer schools
- weak career progression opportunities
- mismatch between professional development and promotion possibilities
- money doesn't always follow need or skill level

1. Most teachers in SA stay on Post Level 1 their entire prof lives. This means they never get promoted or experience a large jump in salary. Annually, teachers get an inflation-based cost of living increase + a 1% increment for satisfactory performance.

roughly only 18% of posts for class-based teachers are HOD positions - so the competition for these is fierce. Most schools only have 4-6 state-funded HOD posts. State funding is important - hold onto that point.

This means that while teachers start out on a great salary relative to other professions, over time their salary plateaus, and eventually reflects a negative value relative to years of experience. this is why so many teachers leave the profession between 40-50.

2. But there's also high teacher attrition (exit) between 24-34, where many new teachers struggle to adjust to the system and leave due to lack of institutional support, poor fit with schools they're employed in, etc. Some go into office-based work in edu depts.

Big causes of teacher dissatisfaction: large classes, very little learning support, long days (incl. weekends and holidays), unpaid overtime, low value of 'benefits' such as housing allowances, weak wellness infrastructure.

the previous edu system under apartheid had a 'furlough' option available where for every 5 years of teaching, you could get extended leave of up to a term. older teachers missed this because it gave them time to properly rest and reset.

3. okay but what about promotion options? currently the SA teacher career has 3 pathways - 1 for leadership, 1 for class teachers, 1 for office-based posts (e.g. subject advisors). Path 2 (class teachers) is grossly underfunded, meaning that the best teachers have to exit

the classroom in order to access a more viable salary + better hours, etc. There's another thief of good teachers, and thats the SGB-based hiring system. some SGB teachers only earn a salary - no benefits, sometimes no bonuses. HOWEVER.

4. Remember what I said about state funding? Govt funds public schools on an equity-based sliding scale. Poorer schools get more money and teaching posts allocated; wealthier schools get their post allocation and fund additional posts through school fees.

in effect this means the sky's the limit on teacher posts for richer schools. For eg one school got 24 teachers from its state allocation but could hire 26 extra teachers from SGB funds AND create parallel promotion posts like HODs, grade heads, etc. Wealthier schools can't

legally just pay teachers more, but they can, and do, sneak in top-ups through giving teachers additional duties like sports coaching, extramurals, or grade head/mentorship positions. So in effect one school had 50 teachers and 21 promotional posts. happy teachers.

5. if schools can't fund SGB teachers, they can't offer more subjects or have smaller classes - this is one reason why the quintile system sucks, because no-fee schools are essentially capped on how many teachers they can have and Q4+5 schools aren't.

but this is also why lockdown drove wealthier schools NUTS. if parents don't pay fees, how are SGB teachers going to get paid? they currently make up 11% of the teacher force, or about 46k at last count.

so lets summarise so far:
- teachers actually earn LESS relative to experience and input
- teachers in the poorest schools are less likely to earn their worth
- promotions and increases are relatively scarce and competitive

Teachers in poorer schools also have limited access to the kinds of professional development that could help them strengthen their practices. One school had a CPD/training budget of R250k. Another school's budget? R5k. per year. for his entire teaching staff.

6. Now lets talk about those unions you guys love to villainise, somehow thinking they're interchangeable with 'teachers' as a collective rather than discrete organising structures.

21% of our respondents felt that they were adequately consulted on key reforms to the education sector and to their profession specifically. Unions have been saying this for years. many reforms do not emerge from consultative processes, so teachers and schools don't

get to take ownership of new interventions - which is why they often fail. different unions also share information differently, and generally teachers' main source of info is their school leadership or self-research - no systematic process of engagement.

there are a number of ways the system can be improved by consolidating and unifying existing functions and interventions. this is what i mean when i say we lack imagination - not every fix needs shit tons of money, just thoughtful reorientation and better communication.

teachers are a critical resource in our education sector, and they are people too. they show up for your kids even when no one is watching and most stay on through the kak out of deep love for their work. i literally had teachers cry in front of me bec. of the way they get

bullied by parents who think they do nothing all day + get long holidays and money for everything they need. they give kids money for stationery and toiletries. they buy their own learning supplies. some even quietly pay a child's fees or send 50 bucks home for bread.

You bend over backwards to defend and fawn over Parliamentarians stealing food from children's mouths but you want public servants not to get paid despite all they do to protect and serve communities. i can't fucking understand it.