Latest news with #educationassistants
Mail & Guardian
18-06-2025
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
Academic offers mental health support to education assistants placed at North West schools
Dr Khido Ramadie. As Phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) prepares to place thousands of young education assistants in schools across South Africa, support for their mental and emotional well-being is coming into sharper focus. In the North West province, an academic from the North-West University (NWU) is stepping in to provide such support to the 1 326 assistants allocated to the province. Dr Khido Ramadie, a mental health counsellor and academic in the NWU's Faculty of Education, is working closely with the North West Provincial Department of Education to offer mental health and wellness support to the province's youth education assistants. 'These young assistants are often caught between being learners and authority figures,' says Dr Ramadie. 'That can lead to identity challenges, self-doubt and social isolation, especially in unfamiliar school environments.' BEEI Phase 5, scheduled to begin in June 2025, forms part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative. It provides job opportunities to young people while easing the workload on educators. However, the psychological toll on participants has drawn increasing attention. 'Many of them experience anxiety, burnout and financial stress due to delayed or inconsistent stipends,' says Dr Ramadie. 'Support must be holistic, covering emotional care, financial literacy, physical wellness and a sense of belonging.' Her services include wellness workshops, peer support structures and access to counselling. The initiative also promotes physical health through education on nutrition, managing fatigue and encouraging balanced workloads to reduce absenteeism. 'We are not addressing mental health in isolation,' she explains. 'We are creating a framework that equips youth to cope in demanding school settings and develop personally while contributing meaningfully to the education sector.' Using research-informed methods, Dr Ramadie and her team will monitor participant well-being throughout the programme, providing data-driven insights to inform support strategies. 'This is about more than just filling posts,' she says. 'It's about ensuring that those who are placed in schools are emotionally and physically ready to make a lasting impact.' As BEEI Phase 5 gets under way, the focus is shifting from placement alone to sustainable support, ensuring that those who are hired are also heard.
National Post
10-06-2025
- General
- National Post
Fewer education assistants means less support for Delta students
Article content DELTA, British Columbia — A shortage of education assistants in Delta Schools will mean less support for the district's most vulnerable students next school year. This is the warning from CUPE 1091, the union representing school support workers in the Delta School District. Article content 'Education assistants are overwhelmed trying to meet the needs of students. Come September, there will be even fewer of them,' says Daun Frederickson, a Delta school support worker and president of CUPE 1091. 'It is so much harder for students with complex needs to succeed at school without one-on-one support. For our schools to be truly inclusive, they need EAs.' Article content The Delta School District is faced with a half million-dollar shortfall for its 2025-2026 budget. Despite an ongoing shortage of EAs, the district will not be able to replace retiring EAs and will need to leave other EA and support staff positions vacant, unless the province steps in with more education funding for the next school year. Article content 'B.C. public schools should be inclusive for every child. Cutting EAs, like in Delta, Surrey, and Prince George, just to name a few communities, makes it harder for schools to be inclusive for students with complex needs,' says Paul Simpson, head of the K-12 Presidents Council and a Burnaby school support worker. Article content The K-12 Presidents Council, representing over 60 K-12 support staff union locals across B.C., including CUPE 1091, says the cuts being experienced in Delta are happening across B.C. It has launched a province-wide campaign, Better BC Schools, calling on the province to increase funding for EAs and other supports for public schools to help B.C. families. Article content 'School support workers could be doing so much more – helping more students in every grade, helping expand before- and after- school child care spaces we desperately need,' says Simpson. 'These are investments that could make a real difference for practically every family in this province. All school support workers in B.C. are dedicated to making our schools better for students and are ready to work with school districts and the province towards that goal.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For more information: Article content
