In South Africa, the number of periods a teacher is required to teach each week varies depending on the school level, subject, and workload policy. However, there are general guidelines set by the Department of Basic Education to ensure teachers have a balanced workload:

1. Primary School Teachers

• In primary schools, teachers generally teach around 30-35 periods per week. This works out to approximately 6-7 periods per day in a five-day school week.
• Each period usually lasts between 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the school’s schedule.

2. Secondary School Teachers

• In secondary schools, teachers are often expected to teach 25-30 periods per week, depending on their subject and the school’s timetable structure. This equates to about 5-6 periods per day.
• Teachers of specialised subjects (e.g., Mathematics, Science) may have slightly fewer teaching periods, as they may require more preparation time.

3. Guidelines by Department of Basic Education

• According to the department’s guidelines, teachers are typically expected to be actively teaching for around 85% of the school day. The remaining time is used for lesson planning, grading, administrative tasks, and extracurricular activities.

4. Variations Based on School and Subject Needs

• The actual number of teaching periods may vary depending on the specific needs of the school, the availability of staff, and any additional responsibilities the teacher may have (e.g., sports coaching or club leadership).

In general, most teachers in South Africa can expect to teach 5-7 periods per day, with time also allocated for non-teaching duties to ensure a manageable workload.