In-service training of teachers – Infographic

The quality of teachers is seen as a key constraint in the education system, and in response, the national Department of Basic Education developed an extensive policy framework for the in-service training of teachers (INSET). This proposal imposes a large burden on provincial budgets: implementing the full proposal would require additional expenditure of R12.2 billion per year, as well as R6.6 billion for once-off infrastructure costs. Such massive reform processes can flounder if they lack detailed plans for implementation at subnational level. The study identified the need for a realistic roll-out plan, with an eight-year horizon. It also costed the expenditure at provincial and district level, and proposed potential savings of R10 billion through more targeted training approaches. These include training 30% of teachers annually and reaching 90% of all teachers over a three-year period, reducing the training by five days per year in a three-year cycle, and reducing the number of residential courses. In addition, it recommended that the proposed reimbursement for travel for professional development of teachers be scrapped.