As the 2025 academic year prepares to kick off next week, education experts are sounding the alarm over teacher burnout and overcrowded classrooms, warning of a potential crisis in the Western Cape’s education system.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is grappling with the loss of 2,407 teachers, attributed to budget constraints, leaving classrooms overcrowded and educators severely overworked.
Speaking on VOC Breakfast, Barry Firth, a faculty member at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in the Faculty of Education, highlighted the critical implications of these cuts.
“It is asking our teachers who are already overburdened to overwork themselves even further,” Firth explained.
“To bridge the gaps is asking the impossible. Teachers will prioritize certain aspects of the curriculum, neglecting others, which will harshly affect learners, particularly in poorer schools.”
Firth expressed grave concern that the increasing strain on educators would lead to widespread burnout, with many leaving the profession entirely.
“Teachers are there for the sake of our learners, but all these cuts are doing is setting them up for failure,” he said.
Listen to the full interview with Barry Firth below:
VOC News
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