Groundbreaking programme aims to produce future-fit educators, close skills gaps and raise global performance standards
South Africa’s critical shortage of skilled secondary school teachers particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has prompted the Regenesys School of Education to launch its CHE-accredited Bachelor of Education in Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Teaching (B. Ed SP & FET).
The new school will offer a four-year course in further education, with a curriculum that focuses solely on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects, alongside selected management and business modules.
This decision is influenced in part by worrying results from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which found South African learners performing below the required level. The knock-on effect is that fewer school leavers enter higher education in mathematics and science, which in turn hampers economic growth.
South Africa has a national quota for learners in these fields, but public education is falling well short. Many teachers struggle with their own subject knowledge and methods, while the average STEM teacher is now 43 years old. Over the next decade, retirements will sharply reduce the teaching pool.
According to the 2024 UNESCO Global Report, South Africa needs to produce 25 000 new teachers annually to meet demand, yet currently produces only about 15 000.
This structured four-year undergraduate degree, offered in both contact and online formats, allows students to specialise in STEM or Business and Management. It has been deliberately designed to address a series of pressing challenges facing the country’s education system, including a graduation rate for teachers that falls far short of national needs, pupil performance in core subjects that lags behind global benchmarks, outdated teaching methods in a rapidly changing world, and an ageing teaching workforce, with the average teacher now 43 years old and a significant number set to retire within the next decade.
According to Kamala Pather, Head of the Regenesys School of Education, the launch is about more than meeting numbers: “This is a bold and brave step to tackle the country’s most pressing education challenges head-on. We are deliberately targeting not only the shortage of STEM and business teachers, but also the systemic injustice that keeps talented young people from marginalised communities out of the profession. Every module in this programme is built on a policy of inclusion, ensuring our graduates can, in turn, create classrooms that are equitable, innovative and transformative.”
The B. Ed is designed to equip teachers with deep subject knowledge in high-demand areas, while also integrating advanced teaching approaches such as epistemic and social justice pedagogies, universal design and transformative education principles. This combination will ensure that graduates are not only experts in their chosen disciplines but are also adaptive thinkers who can meet the academic and psycho-social needs of diverse and evolving classrooms.
Dr Sibongiseni Kumalo, Academic Dean of Regenesys Education, says the programme represents an investment in the nation’s future: “We are developing a new generation of educators who will lead South Africa into the future. They will be innovators, mentors and nation-builders. This qualification is our blueprint for lifting the quality of teaching to meet and exceed global standards, while inspiring learners to take their place in science, technology, and enterprise on the world stage.”
Applications for the 2026 academic year are now open, with the school encouraging aspiring teachers, particularly those with a passion for STEM and business, to be part of reshaping the country’s educational future.
About Regenesys Education
Regenesys, founded in 1998 by Dr Marko Saravanja, Dr Penny Law, and Dr William Vivian, is a leading private higher-education institution headquartered in Sandton, Johannesburg. It is renowned for its holistic and ethical approach to leadership development, offering programmes across business, law, public management, finance, entrepreneurship, and technology. By integrating intellectual (IQ), emotional (EQ), physical (PQ), and spiritual (SQ) intelligence into its curricula, Regenesys prepares graduates to lead with purpose and impact.
With over 500,000 alumni and a presence in more than 180 countries, Regenesys operates in South Africa, India (Mumbai), Nigeria (Lagos), Kenya (Nairobi), Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana, with new offices planned in Mauritius and Namibia. The institution is accredited by the South African Council on Higher Education, the Department of Higher Education & Training, QCTO, and members of global bodies such as AACSB, EFMD, BGA and AABS.
Regenesys offers internationally recognised undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, along with a variety of professional and skills-based learning opportunities through Digital Regenesys, the Regenesys Skills Academy, and its Corporate Education division. Its group of subsidiaries includes Dananda Talent, Regenesys Investment Fund, Healthi and Reg Café, its events and conferencing arm.
