“The presence of the teacher in the classroom is not to make students pass with flying colours, but to change lives. Above all teachers should help students face life with confidence, thus overcoming obstacles in life and shape a better tomorrow”. Abednico Phili, Teacher Mater Spei College Francistown, Botswana.

PROFILE: Miss M. Virasamy, Southlands Secondary School &
Mrs. Carol A. Sooriah, Palmview Secondary School

What made you decide to pursue a career in teaching?

Miss Virasamy: I like working with people, I like words and language and the best way to work with language is to teach it.
Mrs. Sooriah: I love interacting with children and expanding their knowledge. It is very satisfying to watching children grappling with new concepts and ideas.

Describe a day in the life of a teacher?

Miss Virasamy: Busy. It’s about planning and preparation. No two days are ever the same. There are always things to prepare for - events taking place that need to be organized. Working with teenagers is not simple. They have different learning abilities, values, etc.
Mrs. Sooriah: A teacher has to prepare teaching outlines, assign lesson and correct homework, gives tests to evaluate the progress of the learner, record results and issue progress reports to parents. A teacher also has to keep attendance records and maintain discipline and order in the classroom. He/she also participates in departmental and professional meetings and educational workshops. They also coach learners in various kinds of sports may be responsible for special activities like school concerts or learner organizations like the RCL (Representative Council of Learners in SA).

What skills or talents do you need to do this career?

Miss Virasamy: You need the ability to use language well and communicate clearly. You’ve got to have lots of patience - tons of it. You need to be able to manage your time well and have good organizational skills. Very importantly, you need to be able to motivate, to be able to detect potential and harness the talent of your students. Group dynamics are also important, so you need to be able to work within and manage groups.
Mrs. Sooriah: The ability to communicate effectively using different teaching methods and demonstrations. You must be able to take charge of a class of learners and direct them in a productive lesson. A lot of patience, humour, tact and tolerance are needed along with good organizational skills, emotional stability and maturity. Above all, you need a love for children.

What is the average starting salary for this career?

Miss Virasamy: I would think now it’s about R8000 a month (South Africa). Botswana diploma level C4 starting at around 4500pula at the degree level C3 starting at around 6500pula per month. Zambia Diploma starts at two million six hundred kwacha, while a teacher with a degree starts at three million five hundred kwacha per month.
Mrs. Sooriah: Average starting salary for a fully qualified teacher is approximately R8000.

What did you do before your current job?

Miss Virasamy: [Laughs] This is my only job. I didn’t do anything before this.
Mrs. Sooriah: I have only been teaching.

What challenges did you confront at the beginning of this career?

Miss Virasamy: I didn’t have a mentor when I started teacher, so had no one to tell me how to do this job. Having to deal with students in an unfamiliar environment was also challenging as I was teaching away from home. I taught English which was a secondary language, so trying to find alternate ways of teaching the language was tricky. Having to deal with ill-discipline and basically having a great deal of admin work also made teaching quite hard at first.
Mrs. Sooriah: Long hours required outside of the classroom marking papers, preparing lessons and attending meetings can make teaching challenging. There is a lot of administration work.

What’s your advice to young people wanting to become teachers?

Miss Virasamy: Go ahead! It a very rewarding experience. Don’t be frightened by people telling you that nobody is going to appreciate what you do because in fact the students do. This job is not high paying but noble because you are changing people and communities. And you are making people powerful by giving them knowledge. Knowledge is power.
Mrs. Sooriah: This career can be extremely rewarding as you see learners grow and develop into well rounded, mature individuals who are capable of meeting the demands of the world at large.

 

Teaching low down

Botswana
Primary Teaching
The University of Botswana offers a The B Ed Primary programme translates into five possible combinations primary education and area of concentration as follows: 3552407

• Primary Education and Maths & Science concentration
  
• Primary Education and Languages Concentration
  
• Primary Education and Social/Studies concentration
  
• Primary Education and Special Topics concentration
  
• Primary Education and Practical Subjects concentration

Applicants with a Diploma in Primary Education or equivalent shall enter at Level 300 of the degree program. Applicants with a teaching certificate shall enter at Level 100 of the degree program. Relevant work experience in an educational setting is an added advantage.

Secondary School Teaching
The University of Botswana offers degrees in Educational Foundations, Language and Social Science Education and Maths and Science Education for students wanting to be Secondary School Teachers (Junior or Senior Secondary).

Useful links:
www.ub.bw/learning_faculties.cfm?pid=325
www.ub.bw/learning_faculties.cfm?pid=781

 

South Africa
There is a shortage of teachers in South Africa, specifically Maths and Science teachers.
If you want to become a teacher in South Africa, there are various study options available to you:

Post Graduate Certificate in Education
Intermediate and Senior Phase Education (Grades 4-9) and Senior Phase and Further Education (Grades 7-12) are post graduate degrees. Students need to complete an under graduate degree (Bachelors degree) in relevant subjects before applying for this degree. For the Senior Phase and Further Education students need to offer 2 subjects. Those students that only offer 1 subject will be considered for the PGCE in Further Education (Grades
10-12).

Universities of Technology

• A number of Education courses are offered:
  BEd Hons: GET: FOUNDATION PHASE and BEd Hons: GET: INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR PHASE are both 4 year honours degree, but students do have an option of only completing 3 years. This will give them a diploma in Education.
• BEd Hons: GET: FOUNDATION PHASE: This will allow you to teach Grades R – 3. If students decide to complete their 4th honours year, they will specialise in 2 subjects which they will be allowed to teach up to Grade 7.
• BEd Hons: GET: INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR PHASE: This will allow you to teach Grades 4-7. If students decide to complete their 4th honours year, they will specialise in 1 subject which they will be allowed to teach up to Grade 12. This gives a broader teaching opportunity, but disallows students to be able to teach the younger grades.

For information on training Institutions visit:
www.southafrica.info/about/education/universities.htm
africa.isp.msu.edu/s_afr_un.htm

Zambia
There are various options available to learners wanting to become teachers and these depend on the teaching level (primary or secondary) as well as the teaching subject specialisation. The University of Zambia’s School of Education offers a number of teaching Diploma’s and Batchelor degrees, including:

• Bachelor of Arts with Education
  
• Bachelor of Education in Special Education
  
• Bachelor of Education (primary)
  
• Bachelor of Education (secondary)
  
• Bachelor of Education Mathematics and Science
  
• Bachelor of Science with Education
  
• Diploma on teaching (for those with a first degree without an education component)

Most of these courses require that you have a full school certificate with 5 “O” Level including English
Contact the School of Education to discuss which course best suits your interests. (www.unza.zm/)
For a list of all Teaching Training Institutions and information on education structures and process visit:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_schools_in_Zambia#Colleges
www.iau-aiu.net/onlinedatabases/pdf/Zambia.pdf