SA loses 6,000 educators annually, but a targeted mentorship is fighting the mass exodus

Young educators enter the profession with a fierce desire to change lives, armed with pedagogical theory and a deep-seated passion for young people. But the reality of the modern South African classroom quickly becomes a relentless trial by fire.

According to parliamentary data revealed by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube following a question from Build One South Africa (Bosa), South Africa has lost more than 32,000 teachers in just the past five years. That is an average of more than 6,000 educators leaving the classroom yearly. Of these departures, a staggering 30,992 were resignations driven by crushing workload pressures, career changes and emigration, while a further 1,245 educators were dismissed under the Employment of Educators Act.

Bosa highlighted that more than 50% of South Africa’s primary school learners are now taught in overcrowded classes of more than 40 children. Yet, the department’s own national recruitment database lists at least 12,700 qualified, unemployed educators actively seeking work while classrooms remain understaffed.

This data mirrors the Teacher Preferences and Job Satisfaction in South Africa report by the Research on Socio-Economic Policy unit (Resep) at Stellenbosch University, which found that nearly half of all in-service teachers in the public system are thinking about leaving within the next decade.

The primary factors driving this potential mass exodus include being overworked, underpaid, crushed by administrative paperwork, experiencing high stress, emotional burnout and a lack of support.

New educators feel woefully underprepared for real-world classroom dynamics, particularly when trying to support learners who are years behind the curriculum. Theoretical teaching strategies quickly unravel in overcrowded classrooms, which eliminate any hope of one-on-one remedial support, double the marking load and render discipline nearly impossible.

Left to navigate these immense hurdles alone, it is no surprise that so many young teachers consider walking away. To combat this silent exodus, the Jakes Gerwel Fellowship (JGF) has emerged as a vital lifeline, fighting to reverse the tide by replacing the “sink or swim” reality with structured, holistic support.

Building a safety net for SA’s teachers

JGF is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the professional development and retention of early-career teachers across South Africa.

Recognising that the transition from university theory to the high-pressure realities of a classroom is often overwhelming, JGF steps in to bridge the gap with a robust, holistic support system. The fellowship focuses on empowering newly qualified teachers, equipping them with the practical tools, confidence and professional backing needed to sustain their impact and avoid the burnout that drives so many young educators out of the system.

JGF focuses its efforts on strengthening teachers through a multi-layered support model that includes personalised, classroom-based coaching, structured mentorship and access to psychological counselling through wellness partners.

The organisation also facilitates professional learning communities that connect novice educators with peers facing similar challenges.

“Teacher stress is a global issue, but while many countries have implemented structured support systems to help educators cope, this safety net is virtually nonexistent in South Africa, leaving educators to sink or swim on their own. The result? Exhaustion, frustration and alarming levels of burnout,” said JGF CEO Banele Lukhele.

The novice reality

Bayanda Jwara has only been in the classroom for four months, but he already understands the immense weight of the profession.

Jwara teaches seven classes across two subjects, English and Life Orientation, meaning he manages roughly 200 students a week.

“There is a lot of beauty in the pressure because you really learn about the people around you and build strong relationships with your learners, both inside and outside the classroom,” he said.

Jwara is acutely aware of the burnout that often plagues early-career educators.

He attributes this not to a lack of passion, but to a severe lack of systemic support. Novice teachers often have overwhelming responsibilities thrown at them with the expectation that they will simply cope.

“It’s mostly the burnout and a lack of support from senior management,” Jwara notes. “You’re dealing with 35 different personalities in an hour, and for eight hours a day, you are dealing with so many different people. It’s an incredibly overstimulating space to be in,” he said.

He also pushes back against the narrative that teachers have it easy because of school holidays.

“Even when we have a break, your brain doesn’t stop. We don’t have the space or time for mental health check-ins,” he said.

The stigma of exhaustion in the staffroom

For Ronell Mohlala, the decision to enter the classroom was deeply personal. She was inspired by a grandmother who funded tuition fees for community members because she believed in the transformative power of education. Despite her passion, the reality of the classroom has been a rapid trial by fire.

Mohlala returned to teach at her alma mater, a well-resourced, tech-savvy private school. She explained that an abundance of resources could actually mask a silent crisis in the staffroom.

“When people speak about challenges in the classroom, they mostly think of physical challenges in government schools, large classroom sizes, poor infrastructure and a lack of resources. Because of that, the challenges in well-resourced schools are often overlooked.

“We are making sure everyone is trained and bringing in all this new technology very fast. But at the core of it all are tired teachers. We are adding all this technology, but nobody is looking at why the teachers are so exhausted,” Mohlala explained.

Mohlala found the transition from university to full-time teaching overwhelming. While she was eased into teaching through an internship, her transition into becoming a fully qualified staff member lacked structural support.

“There was no proper new teacher induction, and that was a shock to my system. I was essentially thrown in the deep end. They expect you to know how it works because you’ve been part of the system, but it’s a completely different game to figure out how many assessments to set or how to officially record marks,” she recalled.

When looking at why nearly half of South African teachers consider leaving the profession, Mohlala points to an unsustainable workload, a lack of systemic protection with regard to learner discipline, and a non-existent space for mental health.

“There is definitely a culture of ‘just get on with it’, she admits. “There is no time to actually offload. The minute you talk about how you are feeling or say that you are tired, it’s perceived as complaining, and you worry it will reflect poorly on your work ethic. We have a school counsellor for the children, but it would be so beneficial to have someone for the staff to speak to. We are dealing with a lot,” she said.

Securing the human foundation of our schools

What keeps Jwara anchored is the robust support system he has found both at the school he teaches at and through the JGF. He describes his school as a highly forgiving and supportive environment, a crucial safety net for a first-year teacher who is bound to make mistakes.

Furthermore, the continuous coaching he receives from JGF has been a game-changer.

“They don’t just coach you as a teacher; they coach you as a human being. They help you balance the profession with real adulthood. It’s easy to say, ‘We teach because we love it.’ Yes, we do love it. But I wouldn’t love it so much if I didn’t have the support that I do now. That is exactly what teachers need, but often don’t get,” he said.

Mohlala plans to stay in the profession for the foreseeable future. She credits this entirely to the mentorship and professional network she has access to.

“If I didn’t have this support system, I wouldn’t still be in the classroom. It is so important to be seen by an organisation and to have someone with lived experience to ask how to navigate these challenges. They connect you with a network of teachers, so you know you aren’t alone,” she said.

Lukhele explained that the quality of South Africa’s education system hinges on the wellbeing, support and preparedness of its teachers.

“If we want our educators to thrive and our learners to succeed, we need to make structural changes. It’s time to treat teacher burnout for what it is: an urgent threat to our future and a call to action we can no longer ignore,” said Lukhele. DM