Over 27,000 teaching posts remain vacant in South Africa amid high unemployment
As South Africa grapples with high unemployment among teachers, a staggering 27,092 teaching posts remain unfilled, raising concerns about the state of education in the country.
Despite thousands of unemployed teachers sitting at home without work, South Africa remains plagued by a shortage of teachers, with 27,092 teaching positions currently unfilled. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube disclosed this figure during a parliamentary reply to an inquiry by Patriotic Alliance MP Ashley Sauls, who requested a comprehensive breakdown of teaching and non-teaching vacancies nationwide. According to data from the PERSAL system as of June 30, 2026, the national educator vacancy rate stands at 7%.
The Eastern Cape leads the nation with the highest number of vacant teaching posts, totaling 5,730. KwaZulu-Natal follows closely with 4,700 vacant positions, while Gauteng has 3,994. The Western Cape accounts for 3,562 unfilled teaching jobs, and Limpopo records 3,097. Mpumalanga follows with 1,866 vacancies, North West has 2,346, Northern Cape has 1,521, and the Free State has the smallest number of unfilled positions, with just 276.
However, the ministry cautioned that a vacancy recorded on the system does not necessarily mean a classroom lacks a teacher. Provincial Education Departments may utilize temporary or acting arrangements in the interim until substantive vacancies are filled. Thus, the mere existence of a recorded vacancy does not invariably imply that a class or function goes unattended.
Any appointments or conversions of appointments are contingent on the applicable requirements, the availability and funding of the post, and the relevant recruitment processes.
Furthermore, Gwarube noted that 2,654 educator posts were recorded as "frozen" on the PERSAL system as of June 30, 2026. This figure represents the system's status and should not be misconstrued as evidence that all 2,654 posts were intentionally frozen due to budget constraints. The Department emphasized that current provincial submissions do not yet allow for a complete, verified national breakdown of vacancies that were intentionally frozen due to budget limitations.
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