Matriculants to be employed as teacher assistants in Gauteng

Hundreds of matriculants will soon be employed as teacher assistants in Gauteng. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says they will be required to help with slow learners and to assist teachers with large classes.

Motshekga says kids don't develop at the same pace and she doesn't want to withhold those that are learning fast because others are struggling. Provinces such as the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have already begun employing teacher assistants.

The Minister also says she has no objection to schools installing metal detectors on their premises but the costly security measure will not be part of her department's budget. Schools will have to carry the cost on their own. Teachers union Sadtu says that is not good enough. The recent stabbing of a Soweto teacher, allegedly by a pupil has ignited calls for stricter security.

Motshekga says: "They should do it, there is no problem, I mean some schools already search, do constant searches, some schools have huge cameras, depending on their means, and also depending on the means of the province, but as I say it would be good to make it law but if you go to rural areas, you hardly even have fences around their schools."

It is a costly affair and teachers union Sadtu says it cannot condone some schools having the luxury of hi-tech equipment to make them safer while others go without. Sadtu president, Thobile Ntola, says government is the employer and cannot shrug its responsibility to protect schools and they must carry the cost for metal detectors for everyone. Minister Motshekga is meeting her provincial counterparts in two weeks time as a plan is needed to effectively deal with violence in schools.