Final-year student teachers at the University of Limpopo’s (UL) School of Education have received stipends from the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA) for their teaching practice.
The SETA recently presented the sponsorship to the delight of 50 fourth-year Bachelor of Education students enrolled in Senior Phase and Further Education and Training, who have begun their teaching practise at various high schools across the country. For three months, each will receive R2000 per month.
ETDP-SETA funded teaching practicum started on 19 July and will end on 7 October 2022. The funding falls under the SETA’s Student Internship Category B, which is a period of workplace-based learning completed as part of the requirements for a professional qualification.
Kgothatso Ntshodisane, one of the recipients who specialises in economics and management teaching, stated that the stipend will provide him with financial relief. “It will assist me during my practical, and I will not be burdened by the higher cost of transportation and other expenses like food and clothes,” Ntshodisane explained.
Sighing with relief, Kagiso Manamela said the stipend for three months alleviated her concerns about transportation and lunches. “As I will be doing practicals at a school that is more than three kilometres away from my home, ETDP-SETA came to my rescue, and I am grateful for their support,” Manamela stated.
Prof. Kabelo Chuene, Coordinator for Teaching Practice in the School of Education at UL, said that the stipends will help cover students’ costs incurred during teaching practice. Furthermore, Prof. Chuene stated that Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) or Teaching Practice is essential to teacher training.
“It carries 88 out of 500 credits as a critical component of the Bachelor of Education degree,” she added. The 88 credits are heavily weighted toward Level-4 teaching practice, with 56 credits. “In practice, this means that students will be in school for ten weeks,” she explained.
Prof. Suresh Singh, HoD: Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, said: “Upon completion of the teaching practice, students should submit a Teaching and Learning Portfolio of evidence aligned to a student teacher’s philosophy of teaching and learning that is supported by literature, as well as compile a scholarly reflective report on own teaching.”
“The aim is to support students during their teaching practise by providing them with a stipend to cover transportation costs when travelling to schools where they are placed,” Makhudu Thema, ETDP-SETA Provincial Manager in Limpopo, explained.
Thema added that ETDP-SETA is in charge of skills development in the ETD (Education Training and Development) sector of the economy, “and teacher development is one of our mandates, which explains our involvement and support for students.”
By Malatji Monyelegwete