Programme gives young people teacher training

Hundreds of young people have graduated from a government training programme after working as teaching assistants at schools across the province for the past year.

This year, 2201 teaching assistants, aged 18 to 25, completed their year of service with the YearBeyond programme. One of the graduation ceremonies was held at a restaurant in Fisantekraal on Wednesday November 30.

The provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport has run the programme since 2015 to give young people with a matric qualification a year of work experience, and in that time, more than 5000 have graduated from it, according to department spokesperson Tania Colyn.

Applicants are referred to organisations in their areas which, in turn, find placement for them at schools.

Asiphe Khemtse, a programme mentor from the Waumbe Youth Development Centre in Fisantekraal, said their teaching assistants from the programme, known as YeBoneers, had increased from 29 last year to 34 this year.

“As Waumbe, we have started working with YearBeyond last year. We have worked with four schools - two from Kraaifontein and two from Fisantekraal, and we had 29 YeBoneers who are teachers’ assistants that are working with learners directly and so they have assisted them in numeracy and literacy.”

She said they had received positive feedback from teachers saying pupils’ numeracy marks had improved although some, especially in Grades 3 and 4, were used to being taught numeracy in Xhosa and had battled with English as the language of instruction.

Another problem had been the number of pupils dropping out of the programme, she said.

“Every learner who was part of the programme had to sign consent forms so that their parents can know that their children will remain in school after school. But some of these learners are using public transport, so we had a challenge in winter where children had to catch transport because it was raining and cold.”

There were catch-up sessions during school hours for children who missed classes.

Aphelele Jacobs, from Kraaifontein, who worked as a Grade 3 teaching assistant for English and maths at Bloekombos Primary School, said working with children from different backgrounds allowed her to appreciate diversity in learning.

“The YearBeyond initiative literally changed my year. I learnt how to be financially independent because for a long time I have been dependent on my mother. I also learnt how to see other people's perspectives on certain topics.”

Asanele Konkco, a Grade 3 teaching assistant at Fisantekraal Primary School, said: “I have always loved kids, but certainly not to the point where I wanted to be a teacher, but because of this programme, I have discovered my passion.”