South Africa - Durban - 22 January 2026 - Unemployed teachers braved Pietermaritzburg's scorching heat as they they have been demonstrated outside Department of Education offices.
Despite thousands of unemployed teachers sitting at home without work, South Africa continues to face a shortage of teachers, with 27,092 teaching posts currently unfilled.
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.
