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Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (Act No. 76 of 1998)

Regulations

Regulations for the Creation of Educators Posts in a Provincial Department of Education and the Distribution of such Posts to the Educational Institutions of such a Department

Annexure 1 : Post Distribution Model for the Allocation of Educator Posts to Schools

Factors that are being taken into account in determining the Post provisioning needs of Schools and Learners

 

3. Educational and administrative factors that impact differently on the post provisioning needs of learners and of schools for which specific provision is made in the model are the following:

 

❑ The maximum ideal class size applicable to a specific learning area or phase. This ideal maximum value also takes into account complicating factors that may apply, such as additional contact time required between educator and learner and the requirement to attend to learners in more than one place at the same time. Although the situation in South Africa is such that ideal maximum class sizes cannot be complied with, these ideal values form a basis of comparison between the requirements of all the learning areas and grades.

 

❑ Period load of educators. It is common practice that educators in the secondary school phases have a lower period load than educators in the primary school phases. This is mainly as a result of more complex time tables and subject combinations. A lower period load implies a more favourable overall learner-educator ratio. The norms used in this regard are based on average prevailing practices and do not represent workload policy.

 

❑ Need to promote a learning area. By providing a more favourable learner-educator ratio in respect of a learning area in grades 10 to 12, schools can be motivated to promote such a learning area. This may only be done in terms of national or provincial policy in this regard.

 

❑ The size of the school. The smaller a school, the more difficult it is to manage with a certain learner-educator ratio and the more favourable it should be. This matter is addressed by adding a certain constant number of weighted learners to each school. The constant additional number of weighted learners could be seen as providing for a school's principal post, or for part of it, independently from the number of learners. It could also be seen as providing for posts to deal with certain basic responsibilities that each school has, irrespective of its size.

 

❑ The number of grades. Especially in respect of smaller schools, it is more complex to manage a school with a relatively large number of grades than a similar sized school with only a few grades. This matter is addressed by linking the additional number of weighted learners, referred to under the previous point, to the number of grades. A further increase in the number. of weighted learners of a combined school is required to compensate for the management complexity of such a school.

 

❑ More than one language medium of instruction. In order to deal with this complicating factor, the number of weighted learners that is granted per grade in terms of the previous point, is increased if more than one language medium of instruction is used in the particular grade. A head of department may set a certain minimum number or percentage of the learners in a grade that must receive tuition in a second language before recognition is given in this way.

 

❑ Disabilities of learners. These learners require additional support from various categories of personnel. Norms in this regard still need to be determined. For the year 2003 a field-testing project will be conducted that will be aimed at determining norms with regard to the staffing of special and full-service schools and also incorporating schools with special/remedial/aid and/or pre-vocational classes, as well as district support teams. This project will be conducted in a number of districts where the allocation of posts will take place in accordance with the objectives of the field-testing project. In the other districts the status quo will remain for the time being. In order to manage the transformation and field-testing processes, all posts currently allocated to LSEN schools are to be top-sliced from the pool of posts to be distributed by means of the post distribution model. Schools in districts where the field-testing will not take place will retain their current establishments unless circumstances require otherwise. The top-sliced posts currently allocated to LSEN schools, as well as to other institutions or offices in the districts where the field-testing will take place will be allocated on the basis of criteria and outcomes of the field-testing process.

 

❑ Access to the Curriculum. In order to ensure affordable and fair access of learners to the curriculum, the numbers of learners that are fully funded in respect of subjects that are more expensive to offer need to be regulated. (Certain subjects are more expensive than others because they require smaller classes and/or special equipment and facilities.) A head of department, therefore, may identify specific schools at which the offering of such subjects should take place as well as the maximum number of learners at such schools that should take the subjects concerned. This means that a maximum number (or percentage) of learners may be set in respect of a particular subject at a particular school. Should a school exceed such a limit, the excess learners will be funded in terms of the norms applicable to the least expensive-subject. It is possible that the maximum number of learners that will be counted as taking a particular subject at a particular school may be specified as zero even though such a subject was considered for post provisioning purposes in the past. This would mean that all such learners taking such a subject would be counted as if they are taking the least expensive subject for purposes of post provisioning.

 

In order to assist a school to introduce such a subject, a certain minimum number of learners may be counted for post provisioning purposes during a phasing in period, even though the actual number of learners taking the subject is lower than this number. The implementation of these measures must be in accordance with a department's policy on redress in the implementation and promotion of the curriculum.

 

❑ Poverty. In order to compensate for the negative impact that poverty has on learning, the poverty grading of a school is also taken into account.

 

❑ Level of funding. Policy may require that different phases be funded at different levels. Currently, all grades are set at a 100% funding level while Grade R is set at a funding level of 0%. This is merely a tool that could be used if and when required.

 

❑ Ad Hoc factors. Certain factors that are not considered above, such as an unexpected growth in learner numbers, may exist at a particular school and may justify the allocation of additional posts to such a school. These posts must be allocated from an additional pool of posts that need to be created for this purpose.