TEACH South Africa

Full Description

TEACH South Africa (TEACH SA) is a non-profit organisation committed to advancing educational equity by recruiting, training, and supporting young STEM graduates to teach in underserved schools across South Africa. Since its founding in 2009, TEACH SA has worked at the intersection of education, leadership, and social impact, believing that every child deserves access to quality teaching regardless of their socioeconomic background or geographic location.

Through its flagship Ambassador Induction Programme (AIP), TEACH SA identifies passionate graduates from universities nationwide and equips them with the practical skills, mentorship, and leadership training needed to thrive in the classroom. Ambassadors are placed in schools across all nine provinces, where they teach critical subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Technology, and English while also becoming mentors, role models, and catalysts for change within their communities.

Over the last 18 years, TEACH SA has trained and placed more than 804 Ambassadors in over 430 schools, impacting the lives of more than 2 million learners from Grades 4 to 12. Beyond academic instruction, Ambassadors lead Legacy Projects — community-driven initiatives ranging from STEM clubs and eco-gardens to financial literacy workshops and renewable energy solutions — designed to create sustainable impact beyond the classroom walls.

TEACH SA’s work is rooted in the understanding that education is not simply about academic achievement, but about dignity, opportunity, and unlocking human potential. By investing in young educators and fostering collaborative partnerships with schools, universities, government, and the private sector, TEACH SA continues to build pathways toward a more equitable and innovative future for South Africa.

Mission

To transform education in South Africa by recruiting, training, and supporting passionate graduates to become impactful educators, leaders, and changemakers in underserved communities.

Story

TEACH South Africa began with a simple but urgent question: What would happen if some of the country’s brightest young minds chose the classroom?

South Africa faces growing inequality in education, particularly in STEM subjects, giving rise to a bold vision — to create a movement of young graduates willing to step into schools to collaborate with other educators, principals, parents, and the community towards holistic development of both the learners and school. What started as a small initiative quickly grew into a national network of educators, alumni, and partners united by a shared belief in the power of education to change lives.

Over the years, TEACH SA Ambassadors have taught within these spaces full of opportunity and excitement, revealing extraordinary resilience, creativity, and possibility for a world of difference. They have started chess clubs in rural schools, built food gardens that nourish communities, introduced coding and robotics programmes, built hydroelectric systems, turned waste into biogas to fuel kitchens, and inspired learners to pursue different futures for themselves beyond the classroom walls.

The story of TEACH SA is ultimately a story about people — graduates who chose to serve, learners who discover confidence in their own abilities, and communities that continue to reimagine what education can become. 18 years later, TEACH SA remains committed to shaping not only better classrooms, but a more just and hopeful South Africa.