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Ramaphosa promises funds to hire more teachers

Published

President Cyril Ramaphosa said government agrees with concerns raised by the teachers' union SADTU and will make budget provisions to recruit more educators and medical doctors. He spoke in Tongaat, north of Durban, on Thursday.

Ramaphosa said the money would help ease overcrowded classrooms. He told teachers government agreed with SADTU on teacher vacancies, Grade R wages and school safety.

He was responding to a SADTU march in Durban earlier in the month. Thousands of teachers marched through the central business district.

Ramaphosa said: "My wish this is a clear determination from my part our focus on education must be to appoint more teachers, to lessen the number of learners in the classroom"

Key facts

Who
Cyril Ramaphosa (President of South Africa); South African Democratic Teachers Union (union whose members raised concerns with the president)
What
Speaking in Tongaat, north of Durban, Ramaphosa said government agreed with SADTU concerns about teacher vacancies, Grade R wages and school safety, and committed to budgetary provisions for recruiting more educators and medical doctors. He was responding to a SADTU march earlier in the month in Durban.
When
29 October 2026
Where
Tongaat, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Status
Reported

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