Analysis of absenteeism trends amongst educators in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District of the North West Province

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse teacher absenteeism in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District of the North West Department of Education between 2013 and 2015. The research investigated the factors that influence teacher absenteeism, how absenteeism affect learner performance and measures that can be put in place to reduce teacher absenteeism. The research approach used in this study was quantitative. The primary data were Persal leave reports of all the educators in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District from 2013 to 2015. The researcher did a content analysis focused on the number of educators who took leave, the type of leave taken, financial implications of leave taken, age analysis of educators who took leave, and number of leave days taken. The data were presented in graphs, and a comparison was done for the three years as indicated in the previous sentence. The study revealed that illness, depression, working conditions, lack of motivation, low morale, poor infrastructure, long distance to work, overload and overcrowding as some of the major factors that influence teacher absenteeism. It is evident from the study that teacher absenteeism negatively affects learner performance as learners are sometimes left alone in the absence of the teacher. Substitute teachers on the other hand do not fully replace the absent teacher. They are mostly not experienced, knowledgeable and do not have the teaching strategies to maintain learner performance and the regular teacher would do. Proposed recommendations include improved working conditions, payment of unused leave at the end of the school year, rewarding excellent attendance with additional leave or compensation, restricting leave on specific dates, and including teacher absence as a measure in teacher evaluations.