Government

This is how much money teachers now get paid in South Africa in 2025

Staff Writer

 ·12 May 2025

The Department of Basic Education has gazetted the official changes to the salary tables for teachers in South Africa, which will kick in retroactively from 1 April 2025.

The gazette gives effect to the 5.5% wage increase secured by public sector unions earlier in the year.

In February 2025, public sector unions agreed to a multi-year wage increase with the government that will see salaries increase by 5.5% from 1 April 2025.

The agreement also included CPI-linked adjustments for 2026 and 2027, capped at 6% and bottoming out at 4% to contain any wild inflation fluctuations.

Teacher salaries in South Africa are structured around specific bands and ‘notches’ that vary according to experience level and position.

The lowest bands represent newly qualified entry-level teachers. The notches and bands increase as teachers gain more experience and take on more responsibilities in the field.

The upper bands represent the higher tiers of teaching and school management, typically reflecting the levels of principals or department heads.

Salaries are split across 432 “notches” as determined by the DBE and vary according to Relative Education Qualification Value (REQV) levels.

These are standardised levels representing the level of education and qualifications teachers hold.

REQV 10-12 represent teachers with matric and some relevant training, while REQV 13 and above have diplomas and degrees.

The lowest notch (001) reflects the lowest salary a teacher in South Africa can earn. This was R154,671 from 1 April 2024.

Following the 5.5% increase for 2025, this has risen to R163,179 in 2025. This is an entry point of R13,600 per month.

The upper end of the range, notch 432, reflects the highest salary in the sector, totalling R1,209,279 in 2024.

Factoring in the 5.5% increase, this has risen to R1,275,789 in 2025. This is a maximum of R106,300 per month.

It should also be noted that teachers also receive benefits such as pension contributions, medical aid subsidies, housing allowances, and bonuses, so their total packages may be higher.

General Classroom Teacher Pay 2025

School Management Pay 2025

Skilled teachers needed in South Africa

South Africa is currently suffering from a shortage of skilled teachers, particularly those qualified to teach mathematics.

The Department of Basic Education recently revealed that 464 public schools do not offer mathematics to their learners.

It noed that, while mathematics is a high-priority subject, schools may be under-resourced or even lack demand for it to be taught.

This includes limited enrolment in the mathematics stream, making it unviable to run a full class, or there being a shortage of qualified mathematics teachers to teach it.

It is also a question of budget allocations, and what resources are available for the department to get the right skills in.

Mugwena Maluleke, general secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers Union, said that the shortage of skilled maths teachers also boils down to poor human resource planning by the department.

Speaking on a podcast, Maluleke said that the department failed to indicate to university and other tertiary training institutions what its needs are.

“You’ve got to have a conversation with higher education institutions about your needs—but if they don’t know your needs, what they are going to do is produce teachers…but they will not train according to your needs,” he said.

There is also not enough retraining happening to ensure that the current pool of teachers gain the necessary skills to teach the subject, he said.

Maluleke said that it is possible to address the issue, but it will require a concerted effort from the department and all stakeholders to find solutions.

The new salary tables for teachers can be read below: