Is your child's Grade R teacher qualified? Over 7,000 in South Africa are not

702 and CapeTalk's Africa Melane speaks to Professor Lindelani Mnguni, Dean of Education at the University of Pretoria.

Listen below:

More than 7,000 Grade R teachers across South Africa are unqualified.

Those are the worrying figures which emerged from the Department of Basic Education during a parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday.

KwaZulu-Natal reported the highest number of unqualified Grade R teachers at 1,937, followed by the Western Cape with 1,416.

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"If you think about what teaching Grade R means, and if you have unqualified teachers, the consequences are quite serious."

- Prof Lindelani Mnguni, Dean of Education - University of Pretoria

"One cannot necessarily blame the teachers; we have to consider all factors and say, 'How did we get here and, therefore, how can we get out of it?'"

- Prof Lindelani Mnguni, Dean of Education - University of Pretoria

Mnguni says several factors, historical and current, have contributed to the situation.

"The first thing for me is how we have invested in early childhood education... how we have not prioritised it."

- Prof Lindelani Mnguni, Dean of Education - University of Pretoria

"... the resources that are available to these Grade R institutions, whether they are professionalised... a significant number of those are not formal institutions."

- Prof Lindelani Mnguni, Dean of Education - University of Pretoria

Mnguni suggests that some of the individuals referred to as 'teachers' may be taking on the role as a side job rather than as trained professionals.

"... they can't get into the mainstream or teaching, and they end up starting these Grade R institutions...  employing teachers who are not qualified."

- Prof Lindelani Mnguni, Dean of Education - University of Pretoria

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation from Early Breakfast.