This article contains information on teacher salaries in South Africa.
Teaching is an indispensable profession worldwide. It is the bedrock of other professions. I remember the times we would be discussing argumentative topics like “Teachers are better than Doctors”. As funny as it may sound, you will agree with me that these two professions cannot be compared. Although other professionals may earn more than teachers, without teachers who guide students, there cannot be doctors.
Sadly, teachers are the least paid in many parts of the world.
Like in other countries, teachers’ salaries in South Africa are dependent on a lot of factors, like the teaching level, teaching position, years of experience, and type of organisation.
Several kinds of teachers teach in various positions with different levels of experience. Therefore, there’s no one-size-fits-all teacher salary. The salaries will vary even for teachers teaching the same subject at the same level in the education system.
According to PayScale [5] salary database, the salary range for school teachers in South Africa ranges from R20,000 to R320,000 annually, with an average of about R205,261 annually.
Bearing this in mind, below is a list of salaries for some popular teaching positions and subjects:
1. Toddler Teacher
Parents often leave their children for most of the day with the toddler teacher. They basically train the children in their care to develop their knowledge and social skills, which they will need later in life. Examples include table manners.
According to Payscale [6], Toddler Teachers have an average salary of between R3000 and R83000 a year. A mid-career Toddler Teacher with 5–9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of R48,000 based on 24 salaries. An experienced Toddler Teacher with 10–19 years of experience earns an average of R66,200 based on 13 salaries.
According to Indeed.com [8], the average salary for an early childhood teacher is R13,117 per month in South Africa.
2. Day-care Teacher
Daycare teachers work daily with children of toddler age during the day. They must incorporate physical and mental awareness to assist the children with their daily activities. They help them with their playtime, snacks, and any learning activities.
Day-care Teachers, according to Payscale, have an average base salary of between R 4000 and R 74,000 a year. The entry-level
Teachers in this position get about R9,700 or less a year, while early-career teachers get about R740 or less a year. Lastly, an experienced Daycare Teacher with over 10 years of experience earns an average total salary of R24,060.
The average salary for a daycare teacher is R3,500 per month in South Africa.
3. Preschool Teacher
The average salary for a preschool teacher is R 7058 [9] per month in South Africa. According to Payscale, preschool teachers earn an average salary of between R8,000 and R183,000 annually. Based on years of experience, teachers in this position get an annual salary of about R 115,200 and above.
4. Primary School Teacher
Primary school teachers instruct children who are typically in grades one through five or six and between six and eleven years old. The goal of educating pupils at this age is to lay the firm foundations of reading comprehension, writing, and math.
According to Payscale [3], Primary School teachers have an average salary of between R 26,000 and R 319,000 annually. Entry-level primary teachers with less than 1 year of experience earn an average of R144,372 based on 140 salaries.
On the other hand, early-career teachers get about R 51,100 or less a year, while experienced teachers get about R 120,400 and above a year.
5. Tutor
A tutor is a teacher who usually works one-on-one with a pupil or a small group of students in order to help them learn an academic subject. They are often required to break down complex subjects into simple steps to help the scholar understand them better. Learning sessions are mostly scheduled after school or during weekend hours.
According to Payscale [7], Tutors have an average base salary of R62,979 annually. The entry-level tutors get about R 23.68 or less an hour. Late-career tutors get about R106.56 and above an hour, while an experienced Tutor with 10–19 years of experience earns an average of R165.00.
6. High School Teacher
High school teachers, also known as secondary school teachers, provide instruction to students in one or more areas of study within a public or private high school. They generally work indoors, teaching multiple classes over the course of the workday. Outside of school hours, they often conduct additional activities like lesson planning and grading. Like other teaching positions, high school teachers are saddled with a lot of responsibilities that are focused on the students’ growth.
As of November 2022, the salary update on Indeed.com [10] shows that the average salary for a high school teacher is R18,186 per month and R256,853 per year in South Africa. 47 salaries were reported.
7. Mathematics Teacher
Research has shown that annually, students perform poorly in mathematics [1] due to the limited number of competent mathematics teachers in South Africa. Due to the relevance of the subject, Mathematics teachers [1.1] are highly sought-after in many schools. It is only natural to expect that Mathematics teachers should be well paid in different institutions.
Hence, the average salary for a mathematics teacher is R 14 941 per month and R 211,024 per year in South Africa.
8. Lecturer
According to Payscale [2], Lecturers or Higher Learning Educators have an average base salary of between R 122,000 and R 593,000 a year. Entry-level lecturers get about R 239 700 or less a year, while late-career lecturers get about R 109 400 and above annually. The salary gets higher for experienced lecturers.
9. Private or public school teacher
The average salary for a Private School Teacher in South Africa is 755,573 ZAR per year [4] The most typical earnings are 382,780 ZAR. All data is based on six salary surveys. Salaries are different between men and women.
Conclusion
Teaching is a vast profession; therefore, it is not exhaustive. However, this is a list of popular teaching positions and salary expectations in South Africa. It is also worthy of note that the salaries here are not constant. In other words, they can be influenced by different factors such as years of experience, qualification, type of organisation, location, subject, and, in rare cases, gender.
This list only gives you a general view of the salaries for teachers in South Africa.
References:
[1] Jacques Verster, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, “Maths Teachers in South Africa: A Case Study Shows What’s Missing.” Life, 15 July 2020, https://www.news24.com/amp/parent/learn/teacher-collection/maths-teachers-in-south-africa-case-study-shows-whats-missing-20200715.
[2] “Lecturer, Postsecondary, or Higher Education Salary in South Africa.”
YesPayscale.com, https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Lecturer%2C_Postsecondary_%2F_Higher_Education/Salary. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[3] “Payscale: Salary Comparison, Salary Survey, Search Wages.” Payscale: Salary Comparison, Salary Survey, Search Wages, Payscale, 27 Oct. 2021, https://www.payscale.com/.
[4] “Private School Teacher.” Averagesalarysurvey.com, https://www.averagesalarysurvey.com/private-school-teacher/south-africa. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[5] “Teacher Salary in South Africa.” Payscale.com, https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Teacher/Salary. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[6] “Toddler Teacher Salary in South Africa.” Payscale.com, https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Toddler_Teacher/Salary. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[7] “Tutor Hourly Pay in South Africa.” Payscale.com, https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Tutor/Hourly_Rate. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[8] Indeed.com, https://za.indeed.com/career/early-childhood-teacher/salaries. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[9] Indeed.com, https://za.indeed.com/career/preschool-teacher/salaries. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[10] Indeed.com, https://za.indeed.com/career/high-school-teacher/salaries. Accessed April 4, 2023.
[11] Careersportal.Co.Za, https://www.careersportal.co.za/news/high-demand-for-stem-teachers-in-education-sector. Accessed April 4, 2023.
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