In South Africa, the Presidential Employment Stimulus was launched in response to rising unemployment during the pandemic. In its largest programme, over 300,000 young people were employed as school assistants in over 22,000 schools. This has created jobs in every corner of the country.
Teachers Assistants provide support in the classrooms; General Assistants undertake maintenance activities. 94,3% of teachers and principals surveyed say it has strengthened learning outcomes during a hard time for education.
In this session, public officials in education tell the story of how they rose to the challenge to make it happen.
It takes the form of an interaction on a mobile phone and was produced on a shoe-string budget under lockdown. Yet the energy, passion and pride of the creative bureaucrats involved shines through.
It is an approach that is highly replicable anywhere in the world where there is youth unemployment – and where there are schools.