Why are 27,092 teaching posts still vacant in South Africa?

As thousands of unemployed teachers continue to languish at home, 27,092 teaching posts remain vacant across South Africa.

The figure was revealed by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube in a parliamentary reply to a question from Patriotic Alliance MP Ashley Sauls, who asked for a full breakdown of teaching and non-teaching vacancies across the country.

Gwarube said the figures, based on PERSAL data as at 30 June 2026, showed a national educator vacancy rate of 7%.

The Eastern Cape recorded the highest number of vacant teaching posts at 5 730, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 4 700 and Gauteng with 3 994.

The Western Cape had 3 562 vacant teaching posts, while Limpopo recorded 3 097.