Eastern Cape Department of Education

About the Eastern Cape Department of Education

The Eastern Cape Department of Education is the provincial government department that runs public schooling in the Eastern Cape. It is one of the biggest education departments in the country, because the province has many schools and learners. The head office is the Steve Vukile Tshwete Education Complex in Zwelitsha, near Qonce.

The department sets the school calendar, oversees curriculum delivery, builds and maintains schools, and trains teachers. Its work covers busy towns such as Gqeberha and East London as well as remote villages where a single school may serve a wide area.

How the department supports students

Like other provinces, the Eastern Cape struggles to find enough qualified teachers, particularly in rural schools and in some subjects. To help, the department recruits prospective teachers for the national Funza Lushaka bursary. This is a Department of Basic Education scheme that pays for a teaching degree at a public university.

Provincial recruitment adverts have covered Foundation Phase, Intermediate Phase, Senior and FET Phase, and the Postgraduate Certificate in Education. They target unemployed young people, generally between 18 and 30. Applicants have needed a Bachelor Pass in matric, proof of acceptance or application at a university and a home address in the province. Current matriculants have used Grade 11 or June results.

The national scheme normally covers tuition, accommodation and meals, textbooks and a living allowance. Language teaching is a priority. For 2026, the national programme planned to fund mostly South African indigenous languages and Afrikaans in the Eastern Cape and a few other provinces, with a small share for English.

What to know before applying

The big condition is the service obligation. You agree to teach at a public school for the same number of years that you received funding. You must also accept the post you are given, which may be in a rural area far from your home town.

Other requirements include a clean criminal record check, and you must not already hold a teaching qualification. Applications for the national bursary go through the Funza Lushaka website, and the 2026 call for new students closed on 24 January 2026. The department posts its own nomination form and closing dates in its careers section.

Because dates and subject priorities shift every year, read the latest notice on the department's website or at your district office. We could not confirm whether the province runs any other bursaries on its own budget. Keep certified copies of your ID, results and university letter ready, and submit early. Your school or district office can also point you to the right nomination form.