Pretoria – The newly launched Teacher Appreciation and Support Programme (TASP) is expected to attract qualified teachers into the profession and improve teacher morale.
The programme, which is aimed at looking after the welfare of teachers as people as well as professionals, was launched on Monday by the Department of Basic Education at the first Annual Teachers Indaba, in Pretoria.
“It is hoped that this will improve teacher morale and will lead to greater commitment to the schools overall health and performance,” said the department’s Deputy Director General: Care and Support, Granville Whittle, who was speaking on behalf of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
Whittle said the TASP is also aimed at reducing teacher absenteeism and creating a safe environment for teachers.
The TASP, which will also focus on celebrating teachers every day, will culminate in a seminar at the end of October, the month in which World Teachers Day is celebrated.
“The TASP proposes that activities need to be set up which will be dedicated to lifting the morale of teachers,” Whittle said.
The key actors in the TASP implementation will be government departments, social partners, organised labour and school governing bodies.
“Our aim is to mobile all sectors of society as part of governments’ commitment to make education a societal matter,” he said.
National Teachers Union Vice President Gugulethu Mbele has welcomed the step taken by the department to bring all key partners of education to the first Annual Teachers Indaba.
“Today marks a new era in the teaching profession as we collectively begin to realise that teaching deserves to be given the status it deserves,” Mbele said.
National Professional Teachers Organisation (NAPTOSA) Executive Director, Henry Hendricks, also applauded Minister Motshekga for the programme.
“As NAPTOSA we call on you all to change the image of the profession by doing what is right, by being in class on time and teach to the best of your ability as we owe it to our children of South Africa,” Hendricks said.
He encouraged teachers who often work under challenging conditions to be strong and never give up.
The Teachers Indaba was held under the theme "Teachers, the Heartbeat of the Nation: A Programme for Teachers”. – SAnews.gov.za
