Registration Criteria and Procedures

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  1. Introduction
    Section 21 of the South African Council for Educators Act, 2000 requires that:
    1. every educator contemplated by the Act must register with the Council before appointment to a teaching post, and  
    2. no person may be employed as an educator by an employer unless that person is registered with the Council.
  2. Registration Procedures
    1. An educator must apply for registration with the Council by completing the Council's application form.
    2. The application must be accompanied by certified proof of the educator's qualifications, identity document, and the required registration fee.
      1. The minimum registration entry level for full registration status is a diploma in education at NQF level 6 (Three years post matric qualification)
        However, provisional registration is accorded to different sectors as under different conditions as stated below:
        • ECD educators in possession of NQF level 5 certificate with 120 points are accommodated on a three-year renewable registration status.
        • Therapists with a valid HPCSA registration are accommodated as per employer's recommendation at a school or institution.
        • AET educators in possession of NQF level 5 certificate with 120 points are accommodated on a three-year renewable registration if they provide a proof of registration for a diploma.
        • Waldorf and Montessori's educators are accommodated on a three-year renewable registration status.
        • Skilled persons with N3 plus trade test are accommodated as per recommended by the employer.
        • Student educators are accommodated for four years until they graduate
        • First-year students who just registered for BEd must bring a letter of recommendation from the employer.
      2. The current registration fee is R200 (S.A. Educators) and R400 (Foreign Educators) must be included either as original postal order, cheque or payment can be made in cash or using the bank card at the office. Educators not paid through persal must pay the annual levy of R180 on application. Educators paid via persal, their levies are automatically deducted and directly paid to SACE. (R15 per month)
    3. Every applicant for registration must disclose to the Council details of:
      1. any previous employer disciplinary action or conviction for a criminal offence;
      2. any pending employer disciplinary proceedings or criminal proceedings against the applicant; and
      3. any previous disciplinary proceedings against the applicant by the Council.
    4. The registration committee must consider every application brought by the Chief Executive Officer for registration or provisional registration in the light of the registration criteria and make recommendations on the application to the Council.
    5. In considering an application, the registration committee may:
      1. request further information from the applicant;
      2. conduct any investigation it deems necessary; and
      3. convene interviews
    6. lf the Council approves the application, the Chief Executive Officer must:
      1. register the educator by entering the educator's name in the register for educators; and
      2. issue a registration certificate or an acknowledgement of provisional registration to the educator.
    7. The Council may determine the period of validity of the registration or provisional registration in terms of section 5(a) (v) of the Act.
    8. In the event that a certificate is destroyed or lost, an educator may apply to the chief executive officer for the issue of a duplicate certificate on payment of a fee as determined from time to time by the Council.
      Only original application forms will be accepted and we do not accept faxed nor e-mailed forms. 
  3. Criteria for registration
    1. An educator who applies to register with the Council must:
      1. satisfy the ethical standards contemplated in the Code of Professional Ethics for Educators; and
      2. have obtained:
        1. minimum post Matriculation teacher education qualification of (3) years (M + 3 or REQV 13);
        2. a two (2) year certificate in teacher education for the pre-primary phase (M + 2 or REQV 12);
    2. Despite clause 3.1.2, the Council may register a person who has not obtained a qualification contemplated in 3.1.2 if:
      1. before the date of establishment of the Council, that person was a resident of South Africa, and:
        • satisfied the definition of 'educator' as defined in the Educators' employment Act, 1998 (i.e. 'educator means any person who teaches, educates or trains other persons or who provides therapy at any school, technical college or college of education or assists in rendering professional services or performs educational management services provided for by or in a department of education and whose employment is regulated by this Act');
        • was employed as a teacher by an education authority in South Africa, the self-governing territories or the independent states prior to the implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, 1993 (Act 200, 1993) or would have satisfied the requirements for employment as such by any of these authorities had such employment been sought;
        • completed a course of teacher education at an institution recognized for that purpose, and would have been considered eligible for employment by any education authority in South Africa; or
        • was registered by a professional teacher authority in South Africa.
      2. Immediately before the commencement of the Act that person was a lawfully employed educator at a lawfully registered institution and was not subject to the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 but is now required to register under the Act.
  4. Provisional Registrations
    1. The Council may provisionally register a person who does not qualify under 3.1.2 if:
      1. the Council has approved that the person be appointed to a teaching post on the grounds that there are no other suitably qualified teachers available;
      2. the Council is of the opinion that the person will obtain the required qualification within a reasonable time; or
      3. the Council is of the opinion that it is in the interests of learners at an educational institution.
    2. Students in their final year of a qualification contemplated in clause 3.1.2 may apply for provisional registration with the Council.
    3. The Council may provisionally register a person who otherwise qualifies for registration if, at the time of applying for registration, that person is subject to employer disciplinary proceedings or criminal proceedings which involve conduct that may not satisfy the ethical standards contemplated in the code of Professional Ethics for Educators.
    4. Practicing educators who were not subject to the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 but are required to register in terms of the are regarded as provisionally registered with the Council until the date determined by the Minister of Basic Education in terms of section 25 (8) of the Act.
    5. Council may provisionally register a person employed under a learnership contemplated by the Skills Development Act, 1998.
    6. Foreign educators are registered provisionally to teach in South Africa as recommended by the employer. They must provide proof of legal entry into South Africa and a police clearance.
    7. Council may determine the period of validity for each provisional registration and may impose any reasonable conditions on a provisional registration.
    8. Registration entails verification and vetting of all documents accompanying the application. Therefore registration will not always be possible in all cases where the Council doubts documents submitted. Documents will be verified with relevant stakeholders to determine authenticity.
    9. Applicants are verified for employment in line with qualifications, the area of specialisation and grades they are qualified to teach.
  5. Register
    The Council must keep and maintain at its head office, a register of the names of all persons who are registered or provisionally registered with the Council.
  6.  Registration fees
    The Council must, in consultation with the Minister of Basic Education, determine from time to time the registration fees payable by educators.
  7. Removal of name from the register
    1. The Council may direct the chief executive officer to remove the name of an educator from the register if:
      1. after having been registered, the relevant qualification of the educator is withdrawn or cancelled by the higher education institution which issued it;
      2. the educator was registered by error or by means of fraud;
      3. the educator was found guilty of a breach of the Code of Professional Ethics, and in respect of whom the sanction was the removal of that person's name from the register;
      4. the educator requests de-registration, permanently or for a specified period;
      5. the educator fails to pay the fees prescribed by the Council within a specified period; or
      6. the educator dies.
    2. The educator concerned must be given a reasonable opportunity to make representations to the Council prior to the removal of the educator's name from the register, in the circumstances contemplated in clauses 7.1.1, 7.1.2 and 7.1.5.
    3. The chief executive officer must give notice of the removal of an educator's name from the register by certified mail to the registered address of the educator.
  8. Re-registration
    1. Any person whose name has been removed from the register may re-apply for registration with the Council    by the following procedure in clause 2.
    2. An application for re-registration must be accompanied by the reasons for the removal of the person's name from the register and a detailed motivation regarding why the application should be approved.
    3. The procedures applicable to an applicant for registration apply to any application for re-registration.
  9.  Definitions
    In this document, unless the context indicates otherwise, any word or phrase defined in the South African Council of Educators Act,2000 has that meaning and:
    1. 'Act' means the South African Council for Educators Act, 2000 (Act No 31 of 2000);
    2. 'Council' means the South African Council for Educators;
    3. 'educator' means an educator as defined in the Act;
    4. 'chief executive officer' means the chief accounting officer of the Council;
    5. 'register' means the register contemplated in section 5(a)(iii) of the Act; and
    6. 'registration committee' means the registration committee contemplated in section 12 of the Act. 

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