The Permanent Solution — Why the Failure to Permanently Hire Qualified Educator Assistants Is a Massive Missed Opportunity

Between 2020 and 2024, South Africa witnessed one of the most unexpectedly successful interventions in schooling: the Educator Assistant (EA) and General School Assistant (GSA) programmes. For the first time in decades, teachers received structured support inside overcrowded, under-resourced classrooms.

EAs helped with:

classroom management

marking

filing

reading support

remedial help

ICT tasks

learner supervision

discipline support

Teachers across provinces reported reduced workload, improved classroom order, and better learner engagement.

And what did the government do after uncovering a solution that clearly worked?

They cancelled it.
They refused to permanently hire thousands of qualified, trained young people.
They sent capable assistants back into unemployment.

It is one of the greatest missed opportunities in modern education policy.

The EA programme proved that:

classrooms function better with additional support

teachers regain time for lesson planning

individual learner attention improves

learner reading levels increase

discipline stabilises

early intervention becomes possible

For the first time, schools experienced what many developed countries consider normal: more than one adult in the classroom.

Despite:

overwhelming positive feedback

successful impact reports

reduced teacher burnout

improved learner performance

…the state refused to absorb EAs into permanent posts.

Excuses included:

lack of budget

temporary nature of the programme

administrative complications

union resistance

uncertainty over long-term structure

Yet billions continue to be wasted elsewhere through:

ghost teacher salaries

mismanaged feeding schemes

corruption in textbook procurement

failed IT systems

inflated infrastructure tenders

South Africa funds inefficiency but refuses to fund solutions.

Most EAs were:

young

trained on-site

familiar with school environments

experienced in classroom routines

deeply committed to education

Yet once contracts ended, they returned to unemployment, joining 8 million job-seeking youth.

The programme created a pipeline of:

future teachers

remedial assistants

literacy coaches

tech support workers

clerical staff

…yet the state let that pipeline collapse.

Once EAs left, teachers experienced:

increased admin

increased burnout

loss of classroom support

more behavioural issues

less time for marking

less time for reading intervention

breakdown of small-group learning

Teachers describe losing EAs as losing “the only support we’ve had in 20 years.”

Permanently hiring EAs could:

reduce youth unemployment

strengthen school functionality

lower teacher burnout

improve literacy rates

create future educators

stimulate township and rural economies

build a stable workforce

It is a rare case where a solution would address two crises at once: education and unemployment.

: A Traditional Conservative Stance

Conservatism values efficiency, practical solutions, job creation through value, and strong institutional support.

Permanently hiring qualified Educator Assistants is a practical, affordable solution. The state’s refusal to do so is ideological negligence. South Africa must institutionalise support staff in every classroom if it hopes to rescue learning conditions and restore teacher dignity.

Conclusion

Stay clear, stay curious, and let your learning sparkle.