The provisioning of teachers to rural areas is a chronic challenge that the Department is continuously addressing. The difficulty to attract and retain teachers can be attributed to unfavourable living conditions in such areas which includes poor access to certain basic services, facilities and amenities. The challenge becomes more acute when considering scarce skill areas such as mathematics, physical science, and technology (MST).
Over the years, the Department has used various interventions which include the recruitment and retention incentives in the form of the policy on incentives for teachers; the recruitment of foreign educators qualified in MST areas; and to encourage provinces to appoint Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme graduates in posts at rural schools.
The Department is in the process of reviewing the policy on incentives for teachers to address some of the policy gaps that currently exist. The aim is to ensure that the policy begins to mitigate the unfavourable conditions that make it difficult to attract and retain teachers in rural areas. This will include, in addition to the existing monetary incentives, provisioning of accommodation; transport; and other non-monetary incentives including easier access to professional development opportunities.