Guide to Registering as a Teacher with the South African Council for Educators (SACE)

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  1. Understanding the Requirement: As per the South African Council for Educators Act, 2000, every educator must be registered with the SACE before being appointed to a teaching post. No person can be employed as an educator unless they are registered with the Council.
  2. How to Apply: To apply for registration, you must complete the Council’s application form. This form must be accompanied by certified proof of your qualifications, a copy of your identity document, and the required registration fee.
  3. Registration Fees: The current registration fee is R200 for South African Educators and R400 for Foreign Educators. If you are not paid through persal, you must pay an annual levy of R180 on application. If you are paid via persal, your levies are automatically deducted and directly paid to SACE (R15 per month).
  4. Minimum Qualification: The minimum registration entry level for full registration status is a diploma in education at NQF level 6, which is equivalent to three years post matric qualification.
  5. Provisional Registration: Provisional registration is accorded to different sectors under different conditions. For example, ECD educators with an NQF level 5 certificate with 120 points are accommodated on a three-year renewable registration status.
  6. Criteria for Registration: To register with the Council, you must satisfy the ethical standards contemplated in the Code of Professional Ethics for Educators. Additionally, you should have obtained a minimum post Matriculation teacher education qualification of three years (M + 3 or REQV 13).
  7. Provisional Registrations: If you do not qualify under the standard criteria, the Council may provisionally register you if there are no other suitably qualified teachers available, or if they believe you will obtain the required qualification within a reasonable time, or if it is in the interests of learners at an educational institution.
  8. Register: The Council maintains a register of the names of all persons who are registered or provisionally registered with the Council at its head office.
  9. Removal from the Register: Your name can be removed from the register under certain conditions, such as if you were registered by error or by means of fraud, or if you were found guilty of a breach of the Code of Professional Ethics.
  10. Re-registration: If your name has been removed from the register, you can re-apply for registration with the Council. You will need to follow the same procedure as in clause 2, and your application must be accompanied by the reasons for the removal of your name from the register and a detailed motivation regarding why the application should be approved.