The North West Department of Education has confirmed that the contracts of Educational Assistants (EAs) and General Assistants (GAs) employed under the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) will now end in November 2025 — a month earlier than initially planned.
The department said the early termination follows delays in approval of its request for a one-month contract extension. The BEEI rollout, which began nationally in June 2025, was only implemented in the province in July due to recruitment challenges.
“These challenges forced the province to delay the appointment of the EAs and GAs in June and to appoint them at the beginning of July 2025,” the department stated. Issues included the exclusion of school governing bodies from interview panels, non-compliance with recruitment radius criteria, and allegations of posts being sold.
More than 13 000 assistants were hired across the North West, with allocations determined by school quintile ranking — ranging from a minimum of two to a maximum of 12 assistants per school.
The provincial education department applied through the national Department of Basic Education to the Unemployment Insurance Fund to extend the programme by one month, but approval has not yet been granted.
Education MEC Viola Motsumi expressed disappointment at the outcome and thanked the assistants for their contribution.
“Your contribution does not go unnoticed… In this short period of time, your impact has been immense, and you have been a great relief to our teachers,” she said.
All BEEI assistant contracts in the province will end on 30 November 2025.
