Unmanageable classrooms: Teachers urge government to tackle pupil-to-teacher ratios
A teacher from Chatsworth, who declined to be named as she is not mandated to speak to the media, said that over the last 18 years of her career, classrooms have evolved from places of learning to unruly rooms of noise and disruption.
Teachers are urging the Department of Basic Education to address the issue of teacher vacancies in public schools due to the high pupil-to-teacher ratio, currently at approximately 34 pupils per state-funded educator. This disparity in classroom sizes is causing significant challenges for educators. One Chatsworth teacher, speaking anonymously, explained that classrooms have transformed from learning environments to noisy, disruptive spaces over the past 18 years.
She attributes this change to the high pupil-to-teacher ratio, which the department's School Realities report states is 34 to 1. The teacher highlighted the physical and mental strain of maintaining order and attention in large classes, noting that she employs strategies such as group activities, peer feedback, and parent communication to manage the situation.
However, she emphasized that the high ratios hinder effective individualized instruction and lead to increased classroom management time. Another Phoenix teacher described feeling overburdened with a class of 39 students, overwhelmed by both teaching and administrative tasks. She expressed frustration with being underpaid, understaffed, and overworked, particularly during exam periods when marking takes an additional two hours each day.
Both teachers lament the lack of support from the department, with one teacher stating that their school is understaffed and lacks a budget for additional educators, while the other complained about the department's promises without follow-through.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
