Assistant Teacher Salary in South African Rands

Teaching is an interesting but hardworking profession in which you have to water the seeds of knowledge from time to time and keep a check on the students. It is the most respected profession in South Africa, but the problem is one cannot be directly appointed as a teacher. If you are interested in the profession, you must join an apprenticeship under a senior teacher to learn how to control, teach, and make a difficult lecture easy for the students.

A person appointed as an assistant teacher has to deal with a list of responsibilities, which I have thoroughly below, such as looking after the class in case the teacher is absent or keeping an eye on the naughty students. The major part you should know is that an assistant teacher is appointed at a school level where teachers need to control massive numbers of students, so come with me and explore the dynamics of assistant teacher jobs plus their salaries.

Assistant Teacher Salary

The assistant teacher position is more like an internship before a job, but fortunately, the training is paid. Anyhow, a teacher in South Africa gets a handsome amount. On the other hand, the assistant teacher receives a quarter of the teacher’s salary. South Africa is one of those countries that prioritize education, and the government is trying to bring a new education system.

For this, the government introduced a plan a few years ago to increase the salaries of teachers plus provide them with assistants who are responsible for the rest of the duties a teacher cannot perform. The government also provides a modest package to those who learn how to control class, teach students, and make them responsible citizens. But unfortunately, the package is lower than the majority of the teaching aspirants.

An average assistant teacher receives R8091 per month, which is certainly lower than the expectations of aspirants, but here comes the fact that this amount is for the average receivers. In case a university teacher demands an assistant, the salary may be higher. I have mentioned above that assistant teachers are required at the school level, but a university teacher can also demand an assistant.

There is no perfect record regarding the salaries of the assistant teachers at the university level, but the University Of The Witwatersrand pays R17,839, and Stellenbosch University pays R15139. Basically, there is no official legislation by the government regarding the salary of the assistant teachers. On the other hand, private schools, colleges, and universities pay according to their policies.

Responsibilities of An Assistant Teacher

An assistant teacher is responsible for a list of duties, and the major one is dealing with the students in the absence of their teacher. There are also other responsibilities, which I have mentioned below. But the attention-deserving part is that the assistant teacher has a complicated job.

Helping Teacher

Because the teacher deals with a list of other problems, such as preparing results, making the schedule for the students, or planning course outlines, the assistant helps him in all the programs. Basically, the teacher and assistant teacher both put their efforts together to make the plan for the class. In all these beginning parts, the assistant teacher gathers material related to the course.

For example, if they are preparing a course outline, the assistant teacher gathers the major topic of the course. In case they are reading the history, the assistant teacher will focus on which topics are worth discussing in class, such as the empires of Egypt or the French invasion of Africa. Not only the topics but also the materials related to the topic are also given to the teacher by his assistant.

Providing Instructions

The assistant teacher is not responsible for teaching the students, but he can play a role in providing instructions. The majority of the assistant teachers give students a set of rules for the class. He also informs students about ethics and teaches them moral lessons such as how to behave in class, an ethical way to ask questions, and what they should do if they have to leave the class.

On the other hand, an assistant teacher can also gather feedback regarding the course and the teacher. Moving on further, he may contact the parents of the students to provide them with the current condition of their kids’ academic requirements. The last is that he may answer specific questions regarding lectures and class.

Class Monitoring

It is possible that the teacher leaves the class and appoints his assistant there to monitor; in such conditions, the assistant teacher is responsible for conflicts in class. For example, if the teacher leaves the class in the hands of the assistant teacher and a conflict erupts among students, the assistant teacher may take measures to solve and maintain a peaceful atmosphere in class.

Furthermore, he monitors the activities of the students, such as whether they are taking an interest in the course, he tracks their academic results at the end of the month, and informs the teacher. He also plays a role in reinforcing students to work hard and get good grades; he is responsible for developing techniques so the students become interested in their studies.

Collaborating With Students And Other Teachers

Another major role of an assistant teacher is to listen to the complaints of students and take them to the teacher. He is responsible for filtering the complaints because the majority of the students’ complaints are worthless; therefore, the assistant teacher takes the useful complaints out and takes them to the class teacher and then the head of the department.

Not only this, but he also collaborates with other teachers to improve the educational atmosphere and help students. For example, if there is a student who is scoring low in physics, the assistant teacher will contact his chemistry teacher and check whether the student is also weak in other science courses in case he finds out that the student is scoring well in chemistry, then he will ask the physics teacher to focus on the student or change teaching method.

Assistant teacher plays a key role in the educational development of the students and work hard to keep the class’s academic atmosphere. But they do not earn as much as the course teacher because the average salary of an assistant teacher is about R8091. Anyhow, I have explained the salaries, roles, and responsibilities of an assistant teacher, I hope this information helps you in the future.