Ramaphosa: Teachers cannot fix the education system alone

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that teachers cannot be expected to overcome the failures and pressures facing South Africa’s education system alone, calling on government and communities to create the conditions teachers need to teach.

Speaking at the 26th National Teaching Awards at the Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni on Thursday, Ramaphosa said teachers needed support from government, education officials, families and communities to improve learning outcomes.

“By the same measure, teachers cannot be expected to overcome every weakness in the education system on their own,” Ramaphosa said.

“Government must provide safe and suitable school infrastructure. We must reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, strengthen professional development and ensure that teachers receive the support they need throughout their careers.”

His comments came as the country prepares to mark World Teachers’ Day on 5 October, with Ramaphosa using the awards to recognise teachers while highlighting the challenges they face in classrooms.

Teachers need conditions to teach

Ramaphosa said teachers should be able to focus on teaching rather than carrying the burden of problems that extend beyond the classroom.

He called for action to address overcrowding, protect teaching time and respond firmly to violence, intimidation and disruption in schools.

“We must create the conditions in which teachers are able to do what they entered the profession to do: to teach,” he said.

Ramaphosa said excellence in education was a shared responsibility and that no teacher succeeded alone.

He pointed to principals who protect teaching time, district officials who provide meaningful support, provinces that deliver learning materials on time, and families and communities that ensure children attend school from an early age.

The president also called for successful approaches to be shared across the education system.

“A method that succeeds in Limpopo should inspire a teacher in the Eastern Cape.

“A leadership approach that turns around a school in the Western Cape should be shared with principals in KwaZulu-Natal and across the country,” he said.

He said good practice should not remain isolated but should become part of the “common wealth” of the education system.

Literacy and numeracy remain priorities

Ramaphosa said teachers remained central to improving the life chances of pupils, particularly in foundational literacy and numeracy.

He said these must remain among the country’s foremost national priorities.

“If a child cannot read with understanding in the early years of schooling, every stage of their education becomes more difficult,” he said.

Ramaphosa said every teacher, principal, district and education department must remain focused on improving learning outcomes.

He also called for talented young people to be attracted to the teaching profession, for new teachers to receive support as they enter classrooms, and for experienced educators to have opportunities to keep developing their skills.

“We must restore teaching to its rightful place as one of the most respected professions in our society,” he said.

AI cannot replace teachers

Ramaphosa also addressed the growing use of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in education.

He said AI could give teachers new resources, help with lesson preparation, support learners with different needs, and bring knowledge from around the world into classrooms.

However, he warned that technology also carries risks, and learners needed to distinguish knowledge from misinformation, think independently, and use technology responsibly, safely, and ethically.

“Artificial intelligence may be able to provide an answer, but a teacher helps a learner understand the question,” Ramaphosa said.

“Technology can transmit information, but it cannot replace the encouragement, discipline, empathy and human connection that a good teacher provides. The teacher remains essential.”

Teachers also carry social responsibilities

Ramaphosa said the role of teachers extended beyond academic instruction, particularly as the country confronts gender-based violence and femicide.

He said every school must be a place of safety and teachers must uphold the highest standards of professional conduct.

Education should also help prevent violence by teaching young people about respect, dignity, equality and consent.

“We must equip them to resolve conflict without violence and to build healthy interpersonal relationships,” he said.

Ramaphosa said boys and young men should be taught that strength was not demonstrated through domination or abuse, but through “respect, responsibility and self-control”.

He called for age-appropriate life-skills education from early childhood development through to high school, with teachers, parents, relatives, religious and traditional leaders and communities working together.

Ramaphosa recalls teacher who saved his schooling

Ramaphosa also reflected on the teacher who had the greatest influence on his life, his former school principal, Mr Ntsandeni.

He said he had been an inquisitive pupil who regularly questioned his teachers and was at one stage at risk of being expelled.

Ntsandeni intervened and protected him from being expelled.

“Perhaps he understood that curiosity should not be punished, but guided and encouraged,” Ramaphosa said.

The president said the principal did more than keep him in school.

“He gave me the opportunity to continue learning, to develop and to become the person I am today,” he said.

Ramaphosa said this was what great teachers did: recognise potential in young people others might overlook and give them the opportunity to succeed.

The National Teaching Awards, launched in 2000 by the late education minister Professor Kader Asmal, recognise teachers and school leaders for excellence, innovation, dedication and measurable impact.

This year’s awards are held under the theme: “Uniting for Excellence: Elevating Achievement, Empowering Educators to Shape South Africa’s Future.”

The president also linked this year’s awards to the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising, remembering teachers who provided guidance and leadership during apartheid despite repression and the constraints of Bantu Education.

Gauteng teachers face mounting pressures

Earlier this week, the Gauteng education department honoured the province’s outstanding teachers and school leaders at the 26th National Teaching Awards in Klipfontein.

Gauteng education, sport, arts, culture and recreation MEC Lebogang Maile said the province’s education system continued to face overcrowding, infrastructure backlogs, discipline problems, poverty and unequal access to resources and technology.

He acknowledged the burden placed on teachers but said thousands continued to carry the responsibility with dignity.

“Teachers frequently acted as mentors, counsellors, caregivers, and emotional supports for vulnerable learners,” he said.

Maile said teachers also played a role in promoting social cohesion, inclusivity, democratic values and human rights.

“The National Teaching Awards may have been aimed at the celebration of the education sector and teaching profession and be a celebration of both the positive influence and excellence in the teaching profession and the education sector as a whole,” he said.

Maile also highlighted the role of parents, communities, businesses, non-governmental organisations, multilateral institutions, embassies and other organisations in supporting schools.

“These growing collaborative efforts were crucial if we were to turn the tide on the education system in South Africa,” Maile said.

He said the broader Gauteng community needed to continue supporting teachers.

“Teachers, even as they had held the fort, could not do it alone,” he said.

Ramaphosa said the same principle applied nationally, arguing that educational excellence required a collective effort rather than placing responsibility solely on teachers.

“South Africa’s future is being shaped in our classrooms,” he said.

“It is being shaped in the mind of every child who learns to read. It is being shaped in the confidence of every learner who discovers their ability. And it is being shaped by every teacher who refuses to give up on a child.”