South African talk radio in mid-July converged on a single, uncomfortable question: who will be left to teach the country's children? Presenters on 702, Power FM, SAfm, Cape Talk and Moneyweb@Midday returned repeatedly to Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube's parliamentary answer that 17,450 teaching posts stand vacant, and that a large share of the current cohort is approaching the retirement age of 60. Hosts framed this as a looming crisis rather than a passing statistic.
Around that spine, stations wove three connected debates: a widening skills mismatch in engineering, health and IT; the near-collapse of specialist provision for children with special educational needs, especially in townships and rural areas; and the everyday indignity of 2.4 million learners without a desk. Presenters and their guests linked all three back to teacher supply, teacher preparation and the closure of dedicated teachers' colleges.
What emerged was less a news cycle than a diagnosis: an ageing, under-resourced workforce being asked to deliver an inclusive, future-ready curriculum it was never trained for.
A crisis framed from the minister's own numbers
The week's dominant framing came out of 702's afternoon slot, where the host walked listeners through the answer Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube gave in Parliament: 17,450 vacancies in the public system, alongside a demographic profile suggesting many current teachers are heading for retirement.1 The same show returned to the theme hours later, warning that "South African schools are losing teachers at a very much faster rate than they can be replaced," with the Western Cape flagged as carrying some of the heaviest vacancy load.2 By the evening bulletin, the framing had hardened into a question about "who will teach, lead research and shape the next generation," extended up into the university pipeline as well.3
Why the pipeline has thinned
Across stations, presenters kept returning to one structural explanation: the closure of dedicated teachers' colleges. On Moneyweb@Midday, a guest was blunt that "many of the previous teachers' colleges have closed down," leaving specialist subjects like accounting, maths and science so short of local supply that schools "ultimately even have to import" teachers.4 The same guest described classrooms holding double their intended learner numbers, calling it "a crisis that requires immediate attention."5 On Power FM, a caller pointed to the paradox on the other side of the ledger — qualified teachers unable to find placement: "I know of one individual who's a qualified teacher and she's been looking for employment for like three years... they are funded teaching posts but they remain open."6
The rural and township penalty
Power FM's presenters were the most insistent that the shortage is not evenly distributed. "Those in rural and disadvantaged areas are the ones that are hardest hit," one segment noted, with schools "relying on temporary, even under-qualified staff" and poorer communities "disproportionately affected because that's where it hits first."7 The same station's coverage of special-needs provision made the geography explicit: inclusive education is "supported on paper," but for "a young mother staying in a township area far from all these parts from the urban areas where most special schools are placed," it is "quite a struggle."8 Long waiting lists for special schools, another Power FM segment argued, are leaving children without appropriate education "during some of the most critical years of their development."9
Teachers asked to do work they were never trained for
A recurring thread was that generalist teachers are being asked to deliver specialist work. On 702, one contributor argued the department should "reinstitute a standalone subject with a specialist physical education teacher," because generalists "are just not equipped, they're not skilled to do this."10 Power FM extended the argument into inclusive education, with a guest noting that mainstream teachers too often say "this child should be placed in a special school" when the real requirement is to "equip teachers in mainstream and full service schools to be able to accommodate those children."11 The remedy, another Power FM guest said, is more training and workshops so teachers can "spot neurodivergent kids in their classroom" and either refer or accommodate them.12 Departmental figures cited on air — roughly 7,200 teachers trained in areas of inclusion in 2024/25, including 2,728 in autism — were offered as evidence that the scale of training still lags the need.13
The skills mismatch downstream
702's business hour connected the classroom crisis directly to the labour market, running an extended segment on "skills mismatch and how that affects the job industry."14 Citing Pnet's April 2026 report, the presenters noted that around half of job adverts required a bachelor's or postgraduate degree while only just over a third of applicants met that bar, with the sharpest shortages in "engineering, medical and health and the IT sector."15 A caller was unambiguous about where blame lay: "You can't expect to have supply when the education system is turning out people that aren't fit for purpose... I would actually be blaming it on the basic education sector and the failed policies."16
The desk as a metaphor for foundational failure
Alongside the workforce debate, SAfm, Cape Talk and 702 all picked up MyDesk Global's finding that 2.4 million South African learners have no access to a desk. SAfm framed it directly against the future-skills conversation: "foundational learning, not just digital or AI skills, must be prioritised to close the country's widening skills gap."17 On Cape Talk and 702, founder Talita Budram was quoted arguing that children "don't have the skills that they need by the time they need to enter the job market because they were set back from grade one."1819 The presenters' astonishment — "sitting on the floor in the mud learning how to read and write" — became a recurring motif for a system failing at the base.20
Dignity, preparation and what teacher education should look like
702's long-form interview with the co-author of Preparedness to Teach pushed the debate into teacher education itself. The guest set out "strategies which we feel could be implemented in terms of teacher education curricula so that students are better prepared for when they go out to school."21 Callers, the host noted, were phoning in to say "classroom conditions are very, very difficult for teachers. There is insufficient dignity attached to the job" compared with earlier generations.22 The same segment acknowledged that even where teachers want to teach, "if there are not particular vacancies available, of course it's quite problematic."23
What's unresolved
By the end of the week, the on-air consensus was clear on the diagnosis and fuzzy on the fix. Nobody on any of the five stations disputed the vacancy figure, the ageing profile, or the rural penalty. What remained contested was sequencing: whether the priority is training and placing more teachers, reopening specialist colleges, rebuilding foundational infrastructure like desks and classrooms, or upskilling the existing workforce for inclusive and neurodiverse classrooms. Power FM's closing framing captured the stakes: "teachers play a central role in developing the country's workforce, and a shortage of them affects" everything downstream.24 Whether the department's response — training numbers, recruitment strategies, university partnerships — can move at the pace of the retirement curve is the question presenters will almost certainly return to.
- 702
- Cape Talk
- Moneyweb@Midday
- Power FM
- SAfm
Citations
- 1.
“and the United States. The United States is raised in an answer given in Parliament by Basic Education Minister, Sebiwe Guahrbe. How many vacancies are there that need filling in South Africa's public education system? The number is substantial, 17,450. The other issue that was canvas was the number of teachers who are hitting towards retirement. 60 is retirement age in basic education. I'm not sure I agree with that.”
- 2.
“and Kefuti, but just out of session now, we'll find out from Topi Swirl shortly whether they're coming back. So, African schools are losing teachers at a very much faster rate than they can be replaced. Lots of vacancies all over the country. The highest level of vacancies, as I understand it, actually in the West and K, but the other problem is an increasing number of our teachers are hitting for retirement to aid. So, is there a crisis looming? Can that crisis”
- 3.
“and the United States. The United States, the United States, and the United States, are expected to retire, raising urgent questions about who will teach, lead research and shape the next generation of scholars. The same time debates around transformation, equity, the recruitment of international academics and the pace at which young South Africans progress through the academic ranks have brought renewed attention to the country's academic pipeline. We can be talking about that in the third hour of the show as we explore the idea of the”
- 4.
“Kia Daz, Crime, Lake of Resources. And also because there is no support of government when come to the teaching professionals in the public schools. We know that where we are sitting today to replace a teacher is a mission. Many of the previous teachers' colleges have closed down. So we can even see that in some instances, many of the especially specialized subjects accounting, maths and science, we ultimately even have to import.”
- 5.
“As a teacher also to be teaching so many learners over the number, even 100% of what's supposed to be the learners in the one classroom. So it is a crisis that requires an immediate attention so that we all know it has been reported this week that South Africa, we are sitting with a crisis of future skills and proficenas that should equally be taking over positions. And we have to impact also lately skills elsewhere because it starts from the school.”
- 6.
“I think I know of one individual who's a qualified teacher and she's been looking for employment for like three years. She gives contracts here and there. However, as mentioned, they are funded teaching posts but they remain open when you have individuals like her who have been wanting placement as a whole. Schools having limited resources to recruit additional staff as well and this is enough to get funding challenges which makes it a lot.”
- 7.
“and the shortage of teachers is expected to worsen over time and of course those in rural and disadvantaged areas are the ones that are hardest hit where rural schools are often struggling to really attract qualified teachers and some schools are relying on temporary even undil qualified school staff as well and unfortunately with that being said, learners' emperor communities are disproportionately affected because that's where it hits first. because that's where it heads first.”
- 8.
“with talks about inclusive education and how it's supported on paper. But in actual reality, you find that it's actually quite a struggle for a young mother or a mother in general or kid-giver who is staying in a township area far from all these parts from the urban areas where most special schools are placed.”
- 9.
“Khaav, across the country many parents continue to face long waiting lists for special schools needs, leaving many children without access to appropriate education during some of the most critical years of their development. And that points to the level of lack of special schools in our country. To help us navigate that conversation is Khaled al-Zang, Khaled al-Zang, welcome and thank you for joining us at this time.”
- 10.
“The current system makes a generalist teacher responsible for taking a class of children and frankly, they are just not equipped, they're not skilled to do this and it will turn out to be a disaster and it's something that the Department of Education should seriously consider to reinstitute a standalone subject with a specialist physical education teacher at college that these children can benefit from. But we've someone's looking to find out”
- 11.
“and Nisisri Resources. And therefore we often find that teachers in a mainstream school will say, "No, this child should be placed in a special school." Which is not necessarily the requirement. I think it's a big task and the research is ongoing and there's an active drive in South Africa that we should equip teachers in mainstream and full service schools to be able to accommodate those children because we”
- 12.
“- Reality, how do we close these gaps? We need to train teachers more, we need to have more workshops for the teachers when able to spot neurodivers and kids in their classroom, how to deal with them and how to either refer or give them accommodation within their classroom. And then we also need to help out with”
- 13.
“and of course, you know, a quick browse through the statistics of the Department of Basic Education, you know, it reports or reported that about 7,20098 teachers were trained in areas of inclusion in 2024, 2025, which include 2,728 in autism, 523 in Salavah,”
- 14.
“and the American Health Network, Fijia. Today, we're discussing skills mismatch and how that affects the job industry. I mean, our labor market is undergoing a quiet but serious transformation, right? One defined by less to few jobs overall and more by a mismatch between the skills employees need and the qualifications that job seekers actually hold. So there's a disconnect between the talent that's available in the labor market and the qualifications employers are actually looking for.”
- 15.
“and the Mismatch between the skills employers need and the qualifications job seekers actually hold. So there's a disconnect between the talent that is available in the labor market and the qualifications employers are actually looking for. So I was looking at Peanuts Job Market Trends report for April 2026 and it shows that around half of job adverts posted over the past year required a bachelor's or postgraduate degree, yet only just over a third of applicants met that requirement.”
- 16.
“and a lot of them have a skills mismatch where there's no enough of a supply in the engineering medical side, the IT side. It would be interesting to just know how that affected it because you can't expect to have supply when the education system is turning out people that aren't fit for purpose and to entry into those decreases. So I would actually be blaming it on the basic education sector and the failed policies. And now we have”
- 17.
“A future-ready workforce while millions of children lack the most basic classroom infrastructure. With an estimated 2.4 million learners without access to a desk at school, experts argued that foundational learning, not just digital or AI skills, must be prioritized to close the country's widening skills gap. Founder of My Desk Global is Talita Budramu joins us now on the line. Thank you very much for your time. Good morning.”
- 18.
“and Economic Issue, where children are not employable. They don't have the skills that they need by the time they need to enter the job market because they were set back from grade one. Tlaita, thank you very much. Tlaita Burdram from MyDIS Global. That number just struck me as astonishing. 2.4 million South African learners don't have access to a school desk. You know how hard that must be sitting on the floor in the mud learning how to read and write. It's the basics. It's the fundamental.”
- 19.
“is an economic issue where children are not employable. They don't have the skills that they need by the time they need to enter the job market because they were set back from grade one. Talisa, thank you very much. Talisa Boudram from MyDisc Global. That number just struck me as astonishing. 2.4 million South African learners don't have access to a school desk. You know how hard that must be. Sitting on the floor in the mud learning how to read and write. It's the basics of the”
- 20.
“and the Science of the World. And I think that's a great thing to say about the skills for the future. So I was interested to read about the concerns raised by my desk global, which is calling for a greater attention to one of the most overlooked barriers for skills development in the country. And that said millions of children learned to read and write while they're sitting on the floor with no access to a desk. Something as simple as a desk could make such a huge difference.”
- 21.
“These are some of the strategies which we feel could be implementing in terms of teacher education curricula so that students are better prepared for when they go out to school. Some of our listeners' prof have been calling in and saying, you know, classroom conditions are very, very difficult for teachers. There is insufficient dignity attached to the job, perhaps when you compare it to, you know, many, many years ago.”
- 22.
“and the American State of America. And I think that's a very important thing to talk about. And I think that's why that has happened. But in terms of the education context as well, of course, finding is a significant issue. So there are teachers that want to teach, but if they are not particular vacancies available, of course, it's quite problematic. So of course, it's a systemic issue that of course needs to be addressed. So, so Prof, let's talk about in something you've written about you and your colleague, Johanna Williams, who has written a book called Preparedness to Teach,”
- 23.
“of Vacancies, the numbers that reflect the demographic of our teaching cohort in public schools would suggest that many of them are headed for retirement sooner rather than later. A crisis looms can be headed off. We'll talk about that in about 23 minutes time. 27 minutes past four. WN, E, WN, Business. Stephen Critters, sir. Very good afternoon to you. What's happening?”
- 24.
“University's and Chaining Institutions also play an important role where recruitment strategies should focus on shortage of subjects as well and sustainable planning once again to help avoid future shortages. But when it comes to this education crisis within our nation, it's at a critical point in terms of future planning because we know that teachers play a central role in developing the country's workforce and a shortage of them affects their”