Lentswe, Klerksdorp - The North West Department of Education issued letters to the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) Educational Assistants and General Assistants terminated their contracts at the end of November 2025 instead of December 2025.
The department’s Vuyo Mantshule announced this on Monday October 27. He said notifications were sent to assistants. The BEEI project was implemented in June 2025 throughout the country, but the North West Province only started in July 2025 due to recruitment challenges experienced. These challenges forced the province to delay the appointment of the EAs and GAs in June and to appoint them at the beginning of July 2025.
Among the recruitment challenges experienced were the exclusion of the SGBs in the establishment of interview panels, non-compliance with the radius (5 km and 30 km), and the selling of the BEEI posts, etc.
The North West Department of Education applied to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to extend the programme with one month for assistants in the province. The UIF is yet to respond.
“The North West Department of Education was subsequently advised to notify the Educational Assistants and General Assistants of the outcome of the request. The Department then issued notices to the affected individuals a month before the actual date of November 30,’’ Mantshule said.
The MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi, emphasized that it is unfortunate that the funder (UIF) has not responded to the request of the province.
“On behalf of the North West Department of Education, I am extremely disappointed that the funder of the BEEI programme did not approve our request to extend the programme by one month. Our province could not start with the programme in June due to a myriad of challenges experienced in different schools. In June, we were forced to clean up all those problems wherein some posts were sold to the youth.
“We could not start the programme in June 2025. I want to inform our youth that this programme is not funded by the Department, nor does the budget reside with the Department. On a monthly basis, it is the funder who transfers the money into the Educational Assistants’ and General Assistants’ accounts. When the funder said the programme is closing in November in all provinces, we do not have powers to act contrary to the funder,” said MEC Motsumi.
“I want to thank all the Educational Assistants and General Assistants who have been deployed to our schools. Your contribution does not go unnoticed, but it is felt by all teachers, learners, and departmental officials. Our schools will not be the same without you. In this short period of time, your contribution has been so immense, and you have been a great relief to our teachers. I am requesting you to share this information with all other colleagues in different schools,” added MEC Motsumi.
