Career profile · Education
Teacher
Career summary
A teacher plans lessons, teaches a class, marks work and helps learners grow. In South Africa you choose a phase to teach: Foundation Phase (Grade R to 3), Intermediate Phase (Grade 4 to 6), or Senior and FET Phase (Grade 7 to 12). Younger grades need a teacher who covers many subjects. Older grades need a subject specialist.
Today, the qualifications that train you to teach Grades 1 to 12 are at NQF level 7. You can study a four-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) straight after matric. Or you can first finish a degree in a subject such as Maths or History, then add a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Every teacher must register with SACE before they can be employed.
Teaching suits people who enjoy explaining things and can stay patient with a full classroom. Classes can be big, and marking and paperwork often follow you home. But teachers shape how children think, read and feel about themselves. Many teachers say watching a learner finally understand something is the best part of the job.
A Day in the Life
A teacher's day starts before the first bell and often carries on long after the last one. Here is what a normal school day looks like in a South African public school.
Before the bell — You arrive early to check your lesson plans, set up the classroom and get worksheets ready. Official rules say teachers should be at school for at least seven hours a day, and that includes breaks.
Teaching your classes — Most of your school day is spent teaching. A Foundation Phase teacher covers reading, a second language, maths and life skills with one class. A high-school teacher teaches one or two subjects to several classes.
Keeping order — Classes are often big. Getting everyone settled, listening and on task takes real skill, and it has to happen before any learning can.
Break duty and the extra roles — At break you may be on ground duty. You also notice the learner who is hungry, upset or falling behind, and often end up acting as a counsellor as well as a teacher.
After school — Afternoons can mean coaching sport, running a club, meeting parents or doing admin such as timetables, fire drills or collecting money for school events.
Evenings and weekends — Marking, planning tomorrow's lessons and filling in forms often happen at home.
Choose this career if…
- You explain things well
- You can be firm as well as kind
- You notice when someone is struggling
- You stay calm when things go wrong
- You can handle being around people who are angry or distressed
- You push through when it gets hard
Qualification
- 4years
Bachelor of Education (B.Ed)
Registers you as a Full registration
The main route for school-leavers. You choose a phase: Foundation, Intermediate, or Senior and FET. The degree carries at least 480 credits. Each university registers its own B.Ed with SAQA, so qualification IDs differ.
Regulated under Revised Policy on the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ), made under s8(2)(c) of the National Qualifications Framework Act 67 of 2008 · Government Notice 111, Government Gazette 38487, 19 February 2015
NQF 7 · 480 credits
- 1year
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
Registers you as a Full registration
A teaching qualification of at least 120 credits, one year if full-time, taken after a suitable degree, or a diploma the higher education department has approved. Despite its name, it sits at NQF level 7.
Regulated under Revised Policy on the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ), made under s8(2)(c) of the National Qualifications Framework Act 67 of 2008 · Government Notice 111, Government Gazette 38487, 19 February 2015
Advanced Diploma · NQF 7 · 120 credits
A Grade R diploma only lets you teach Grade R
The Diploma in Grade R Teaching only prepares you to teach Grade R. If you have a bachelor pass and want to teach young children, the B.Ed in Foundation Phase Teaching keeps more doors open.
Your teacher training should include a second South African language
Your teaching qualification should make you able to teach in one official language and hold a basic conversation in a second official language. If you teach in English or Afrikaans, that second language must be an African language or South African Sign Language.
Salary
Then it grows
Post Level 1 teacher, starting salary (degree plus PGCE)
R366 000
No experience required.
Post Level 1 teacher, starting salary (B.Ed)
R366 000
No experience required. A new public-school teacher with a four-year qualification starts at the bottom of the Post Level 1 scale.
Qualifying does not guarantee a post
Teaching posts depend on provincial budgets. In August 2024 the Western Cape Education Department announced it would cut 2,407 teacher posts from 1 January 2025 because of a budget shortfall.
- Western Cape Education Department, Schedule 1: OSD educator salary notches from 1 April 2026 (notch 164: R366 051), as at April 2026 — basic salary before allowances.
Matric Requirements
Pass type you need
- Bachelor of Education (B.Ed): National Senior Certificate with a Bachelor’s degree pass
- Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE): National Senior Certificate at Diploma level
Mathematics or Maths Literacy?
Worth knowingGrade 10 and 11 · still reversible
Decide which phase excites you: little ones, middle grades or teenagers. If high school, pick the subjects you'd love to teach and keep them. If you're unsure, keep Mathematics for now. Then ask two or three universities what their B.Ed needs for your phase.
You take Mathematics
- Every B.Ed phase stays on the table, including teaching high-school Mathematics, as long as you meet each university's entry rules, including the Maths mark it asks for.
- You can study a science or maths degree first and then add a PGCE.
- You can become a Mathematics or Physical Sciences teacher, subjects schools struggle to fill.
You take Mathematical Literacy
- Some B.Ed programmes accept Maths Literacy, but entry rules differ between universities, so check each one.
- Teaching Mathematics in Grades 10 to 12 is very hard to reach without Mathematics at school.
- A science or maths degree followed by a PGCE will usually be closed to you.
Best School Subjects
Strongly recommended
- English · Universities set their own language rules, and some ask for English Home Language, so check each one.
- Mathematics · Needed to teach maths in high school, and maths teachers are in short supply.
Also useful
- Physical Sciences · Opens the door to studying science and becoming a high-school science teacher.
Professional Registration
This career is associated with the South African Council for Educators (SACE).
You register in one of these categories:
- Full registration
Learning does not stop when you qualify
SACE expects teachers to earn at least 150 professional development points in each three-year cycle, through courses, workshops and school-based activities.
Practical Requirements
SAPS police clearance, no older than six months, to register with SACEClearance or background check
Applying for SACE registration. When you apply to register with SACE, fully or provisionally, you must send a full SAPS police clearance certificate, not just a name check. It must be no older than six months on the day you submit it to SACE.
Sex-offender register check before you can be hiredClearance or background check
Being offered a teaching post. Your employer must apply for the check before employing you. Before you are employed, your employer must apply for a certificate showing whether your name is on the National Register for Sex Offenders. An employer may not employ someone whose name is on the register, and an employer who breaks this rule commits a crime.
Required by law · Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, s45, as amended by Act 13 of 2021
8 to 12 weeks of teaching practice in schools in a full-time PGCEInternship
Being enrolled in a PGCE. It is part of the qualification, not of SACE registration. In a full-time contact PGCE you should spend at least eight weeks, and up to 12 weeks, in supervised, assessed practice in schools, with at least four weeks in a row. Part-time and distance students may spend longer in schools. The policy calls this school-based work-integrated learning.
20 to 32 weeks of teaching practice in schools in a full-time B.EdInternship
Being enrolled in a B.Ed. It is part of the qualification, not of SACE registration. In a full-time contact B.Ed you should spend at least 20 weeks, and up to 32 weeks, in supervised, assessed practice in schools. In any one year it is no more than 12 weeks, with at least three in a row. Part-time and distance students may spend longer in schools. The policy calls this school-based work-integrated learning.
Career Ladder
- Teacher (Post Level 1) · B.Ed, or a degree plus PGCE · NQF 7
- Senior Teacher (Post Level 1) · B.Ed, or a degree plus PGCE · NQF 7
- Master Teacher (Post Level 1) · B.Ed, or a degree plus PGCE · NQF 7
- Departmental Head (Post Level 2) · B.Ed, or a degree plus PGCE · NQF 7
- Deputy Principal (Post Level 3) · B.Ed, or a degree plus PGCE · NQF 7
- Principal (Post Level 4) · B.Ed, or a degree plus PGCE · NQF 7
Senior and Master Teacher are still classroom posts
Senior Teacher and Master Teacher are still Post Level 1 classroom posts, with mentoring duties. Formal management posts start at Departmental Head, sometimes called Head of Department.
Last reviewed October 2026. We work hard to keep this information accurate, but details can change — always verify before making a career decision. Tell us something is out of date.
