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Many South African teachers are feeling severely burned out as a result of their workloads, a national study has found.

The Teacher Preferences and Job Satisfaction in South Africa report, released by Stellenbosch University, reveals that 50% of teachers want to leave the profession in the next 10 years.

The primary reasons for their stress are an excessive workload as well as administrative burdens, with the latter being the primary source of stress for 70% of respondents.

Many feel burdened by excessive paperwork, which they largely perceive as being redundant and irrelevant to their actual teaching needs.

The survey also found that teachers in better-resourced schools were more stressed than those in low-fee and no-fee schools. This is largely due to the increased pressure from parents and school management, at affluent schools, who put them under pressure to deliver top results.

When it comes to preferred locations, the study highlighted a lack of willingness to work outside of the major urban centres, with 40% stating that nothing would convince them to take a job in a rural area.

This, interviews showed, was due to poor infrastructure, a lack of resources and limited career development opportunities.

The Western Cape and Gauteng were named as the most desirable locations for teachers, while predominantly rural provinces such as Limpopo and the Eastern Cape were lowest on the list, indicating their higher likelihood of Urgent need for mental health support

The study highlights the need for greater mental health support for teachers, many of whom feel emotionally drained, particularly because their roles often extend to counseling, caregiving and social work.

Furthermore, teachers at less affluent schools said they felt overwhelmed by the emotional and social challenges faced by their learners, such as poverty, neglect and violence.

Lacking access to school psychologists, these teachers are left to manage these mental health issues alone.

“While we don’t expect pre-retirement attrition rates to reach 50%, these findings highlight an urgent need to address teacher burnout and mental health,” said Dr Heleen Hofmeyr, who is one of the report’s authors.

“Through follow-up interviews, we found that high stress levels, excessive administrative tasks, and inadequate support systems are driving factors for teachers wanting to leave the profession.”

The authors of the study made the following five recommendations:

Expand mental health support for teachers and learners.

Reduce the administrative burden on teachers.

Introduce incentives to attract teachers to rural areas.

Equip teachers with remedial teaching strategies.

Enhance classroom management training.

The Teacher Preferences and Job Satisfaction report was led by Stellenbosch University, and supported by Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, the FEM Education Foundation as well as national and provincial education departments.

Its findings are based on a nationwide survey of more than 1,500 teachers, as well as follow-up telephonic interviews with 80 of these respondents.

*This article was first published by IOL News

By Lerato Mutlanyane

Joy rippled through Botshabelo on Friday, 19 December 2025, as MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure Dibolelo Mance delivered 100 grocery food parcels to some of the township’s most vulnerable residents.

Smiles and excitement lit up the faces of beneficiaries as the MEC set aside her demanding schedule to lead a hands-on festive outreach, turning compassion into action.

As part of the government’s commitment to giving back, three centres were selected during the 2024/25 financial year to benefit from the initiative: Tokoloho Disabled Care Centre in Ward 36, Tiisetso Mental Health Centre in Ward K, and Mohau Old Age Centre in Ward 34. The programme targets people living with disabilities, mental health patients, and the elderly.

Mance said the initiative is deeply personal to her, as a parent of two autistic children.

“Supporting people living with disabilities requires courage and love,” she said, praising Tokoloho Centre manager Mary Mbewu for her dedication.

The MEC confirmed the programme will rotate annually. “Last year we were in Bloemfontein, this year Botshabelo, and next year Thaba Nchu. We want to reach every centre,” she said.

She stressed that the festive season is a particularly difficult period for many families. “This is when support matters most. These food parcels allow families to celebrate Christmas with dignity.”

The centres, which face ongoing financial strain, welcomed the intervention, implemented in partnership with the Department of Social Development.

Ward 37 councillor Mmota Simon Ramolelle said the Tokoloho Centre plays a critical role, serving residents in the U, V, W, S and R sections of Wards 36 and 37.

Beyond festive cheer, Mance used the event to raise alarm over gender-based violence and femicide in Mangaung.

“Christmas should be a time of joy, yet we continue to see women killed and children violated. We must remain vigilant and act together to stop this,” she said.

Mance concluded by wishing communities a safe, joyful Christmas and a prosperous 2026.

Lerato Mutlanyane

The National Treasury has withheld equitable share allocations to 15 financially distressed municipalities in the North West, citing persistent failures to comply with financial management and accountability requirements.

The move follows the invocation of Section 216 of the Constitution, which empowers Treasury to stop transfers to any organ of state that commits serious or ongoing breaches of prescribed financial controls.

Equitable share is an unconditional grant drawn from national taxes and allocated to municipalities to fund basic services such as water, sanitation and refuse removal.

According to a South African Local Government Association (SALGA) circular dated 9 December and issued to provincial executive committee members, the affected municipalities were flagged for multiple failures.

These include the non-submission of funded budgets, failure to address irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, outstanding payments, and non-compliance with payment arrangements involving entities such as the South African Revenue Service (SARS), pension funds and water boards.

The municipalities listed are Kgetlengrivier, Lekwa-Teemane, Mamusa, Maquassi Hills, Naledi, Madibeng, JB Marks, Matlosana, Tswaing, Modiri Molema District, Rustenburg, Mahikeng, Moses Kotane, Moretele and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District.

SALGA warned that the withholding of funds—used to pay salaries, maintain basic services and support indigent households - could push already struggling municipalities into deeper financial and operational crises.

The circular notes that equitable share payments will only be reinstated once municipalities demonstrate significant progress in meeting Treasury requirements, stabilising finances and ensuring uninterrupted service delivery, to avert what it describes as the risk of a national municipal crisis.

By Matshidio Selebeleng

A suspected drug dealer was arrested after initially evading police when an unruly crowd disrupted an intelligence-driven operation in the Hillcrest and De Vries streets area in Ashbury, within the Heidedal policing precinct.

Police said officers were forced to temporarily withdraw after community members threw stones and set dogs on police during the operation. The suspect managed to flee the scene amid the chaos but was later traced and arrested.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane said members from the Bloemfontein Public Order Police Unit’s Information Team had planned the operation after receiving intelligence. The suspect was observed on the corner of Hillcrest and De Vries streets, where officers attempted to arrest him over the weekend.

“During the operation, a potential buyer approached the house and called out from the gate: ‘Gee tien daar, Rieckie.’ Police reacted to the signal, disrupted the transaction and identified themselves to the suspect. The suspect became violent and assaulted one of the constables with an open hand,” said Covane.

He added that police searched the suspect and found 152 Mandrax tablets in his possession.

Covane said community members living around the house then gathered, throwing stones and setting dogs on police officers.

“The members were outnumbered and the principle of situational appropriateness was applied. The suspect, known to police as ‘Rickie’, was freed from arrest by the unruly community members,” he said.

A case docket of assault on a police officer and possession of drugs was opened at Heidedal Police Station. Covane confirmed that the suspect was later traced and arrested and will face the full might of the law.

The Mandrax tablets, weighing 248 grams and estimated to have a street value of R4 600, were confiscated and booked into the Evidence Management System at the police station.

By Abigail Visagie

The Bloemfontein City Hall was filled to capacity yesterday for a day of prayer for reconciliation under the theme “Seeking God’s Face for the Healing of the Land”.

Led by Mayor of Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM) Gregory Nthatisi, alongside Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, the day was graced by various interfaith church leaders.

The Data and Information Officer for MMM, Themba Vryman, confirmed that the theme carried a profound message for attendees, and the large turnout reflected the city's diverse demographics, encompassing different classes, genders, races, youth, women, and persons living with disabilities.

He says recognising the church is a strategic partnership for community development and social upliftment- combating crime, substance abuse, gender based violence and Femicide (GBVF) and so many other socio-economic issues, together as one voice.

“These challenges cannot be resolved by the government alone. They require collective moral leadership and shared responsibility,” he said.

Nthatisi during his keynote address said,  “I made a commitment that this Reconciliation Day of Prayer must outlive all of us and must receive the necessary support which will allow for this event to be sustainable, to grow and endure.

“I once again extend my sincere gratitude to all who attended, commend the organisers under the leadership of our church leaders, and call upon our community to make the 2026 Reconciliation Day of Prayer an even greater event, hosted at a larger venue,” concluded Nthatisi.

The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) national elective conference in Polokwane this week concluded with the unopposed re-election of Collen Malatji as president with suggestions that this will reinforce secretary-general Fikile Mbalula's ambitions of becoming party president.

The newly elected Top Five leadership alongside Malatji includes Francisco Dyantyi (31), who moves from provincial secretary to deputy president. Tsakani Shiviti (34), the ANC chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on science, technology and innovation, was elected secretary-general. 

Zamakhanyase Khanyase (31) was elected first deputy secretary-general, having served as national spokesperson in the previous administration. Jacob Tau will now serve as treasurer-general, and Venus Blennies-Magage (30), the MEC for finance, economic development and tourism in the Northern Cape, was elected second deputy secretary-general.

Malatji was re-elected uncontested for a second term in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the league's 27th national congress, held at the University of Limpopo under the banner of "Economic Freedom and Social Change: Now, Not Later." 

IOL reported that EFF leader Julius Malema warned last week that Mbalula is on course to become the party’s next president unless there is a serious intervention to stop him, and that the party’s deputy president, Paul Mashatile, was still “trying to catch up”.

Speaking during a media briefing in Johannesburg, malema said that without decisive action, Mbalula is going to be the party’s next president.

“I warned you that there’s Mbalula. If they allow him to do what he’s doing, he’s going to lead them,” Malema said.

He added that if the ANC’s succession battle were a marathon, “Mbalula is ahead, Paul (Mashatile) is trying to catch up, and I don’t know how he will get there”

The lack of challenge for the top position, and against his entire slate of preferred leaders, has ignited debate over the ANCYL’s political autonomy and its function within the mother body.

Political analyst Sandile Swana said that the clean sweep was far from 'a spontaneous democratic exercise'. 

“Clearly the re-election of Collen Malatji means that the ANC itself has orchestrated this outcome that they have had Malatji’s slate unopposed,” Swana said.

“So it was agreed ahead of time that these ones would be elected unopposed… that is not a natural outcome. It is always orchestrated… It signifies the fact that the dominant faction in the ANC wants a domesticated youth league.”

Swana’s comments highlight a long-standing concern that the ANCYL has been stripped of its historic independence, a change he traces back to the expulsion of former president Malema and his supporters.

“The youth league has not had its independence since the expulsion of Malema,” he added. “That is the situation.”

The conference, which took place from December 14, was held earlier than scheduled.

In August, the ANCYL national general congress in the Northern Cape resolved that the national executive committee (NEC) should convene an early conference, as many members were approaching or had exceeded the age limit of 35.

Despite the widespread perception of a pre-determined outcome, reports indicated that Malatji and his slate were expected to make a clean sweep precisely because no one had formally challenged him for the presidency. 

However, prior to the conference, Malatji had publicly stated his commitment to internal democracy.

Reportedly he said that the ANCYL “believes in democratic practices and that he is willing to be challenged even from the floor.”

Swana, however, remains unconvinced that the current ANCYL leadership under Malatji has demonstrated the necessary political clout or ideological clarity.

 “Malatji has not been able to profile ideological clarity and a disciplined progressive program that is consistent and measurable in its progress,” Swana argued.

“The impact of the Youth league is subdued and hard to detect what exactly changes in the ANC. The emergence of people like Malatji as leaders is an indication that the youth league has lost its power for a long time,” he concluded.

The conference was also addressed by ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, who called on the young people of the ANCYL to aggressively mobilise the country's youth behind the ANC in next year's local government elections. 

Ramaphosa praised the youth for their "enduring spirit and immense contribution" to some of the declarations made at the party's recent National General Council (NGC).

*This article was first posted by IOL News