EDUCATION: Eastern Cape teacher assistants left without income after contract ends and funding hiatus
Eastern Cape residents Nkululeko Diba, Nobadula Zanele and Lilly Estelle Schutte are among 1.4 million young South Africans who have benefited – in the short term at least – from a huge youth employment project that has alleviated the daily stresses of teachers in about 23,000 schools since 2020. But now they are back home, and the project’s future is uncertain.
During Phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI), 28,709 young South Africans from the Eastern Cape received support as teacher assistants in public schools. These assistants earned R4,000 per month and contributed to classroom instruction in curriculum support, reading champions, ICT, care and support, handypersons, and sport and enrichment roles. However, the programme's future is uncertain following a funding hiatus.
The BEEI, a government's largest youth employment program since 2020, has benefited around 1.4 million young South Africans. It has been allocated R31.3-billion over its six phases, with Phase 5 costing R574.18-million and placing assistants in about 4,754 public schools. The programme's funding primarily came from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), which provided R4-billion nationally.
In Phase 6, the UIF refused to release more funds until an independent audit of Phase 5 was completed. The 2026 national Budget further reduced the BEEI allocation from R5.6-billion to R340-million, barely sufficient for administration costs and no funded positions for young people. The funding gap has left many of the 28,709 former assistants without income.
Dr. Kate Philip, the PES programme lead, acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the initiative's future. The BEEI's funding architecture is complicated, with money from the UIF not flowing directly to the Department of Basic Education or provinces. Instead, programme ownership lies with the Sector Education and Training Authority, which must coordinate plans with the DBE before anything can move. This bureaucratic chain makes it challenging to redirect funds in time for the current financial year.
The loss of 28,709 positions in the Eastern Cape, a province with the second-highest expanded unemployment rate in the country at 54.1%, has significantly impacted the local workforce. The BEEI aimed to support teachers and learners by providing assistant positions but has now left many young people without income and direction.
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