ISASA is a voluntary association of independent (private) schools. ISASA membership is open to any independent school in Southern Africa that complies with the association’s quality requirements and agrees to abide by the ISASA Conditions for Membership.

The benefits of ISASA membership are broadly divided into four categories:

• Supporting a community of colleagues
• Simplifying a school’s life
• Promoting schools’ interests and protecting their rights
• Strengthening schools’ sustainability and saving them money

The association publishes a brochure titled Why Belong to ISASA? that examines these member benefits in greater detail.

For more information on the ISASA membership process, please contact us.

Educator Registration with the South African Council for Educators

All educators working in South African schools, public and independent, in the GET or FET bands, must be registered with SACE (the South African Council for Educators).

SACE provides for full, provisional or conditional registration of educators:

• Full Registration Status Category: Professionally qualified educators with Bachelor of Education (BEd) or first Degree / Diploma together with Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) only.
• Provisional Registration Category: BEd and PGCE student teachers in all public and recognised Private Higher Education institutions.
• Conditional Special Registration Category: Created to recognise the national priorities in schools and sectoral needs that are necessary in our schools (Performing Arts inclusive of Music, Visual Arts, Therapists and Psychologists, Areas in Focus Schools, Three Stream Model inclusive of Artisans, Schools of Skills, Technical High Schools, Waldorf and Montessori Schools, Christian / Jewish / Muslim Schools, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Community Education and Training (CET) Colleges).

Provisional and Conditional certificate holders are advised to renew their registrations two to three months prior to the expiry of their certificates, to ensure timeous registrations.

Requirements for Music Educators

The registration of music educators is a once-off Conditional Special Registration with SACE and does not require renewal. For full registration by SACE as a music teacher, an applicant will be required to submit proof of registration for a PGCE qualification.

Sport Coaches

Sport coaches are not required to register with SACE as they assist the school with extra-curricular activities. It is advisable that schools obtain police clearances for these individuals.

Police Clearances to be submitted to SACE

SACE requires all schools to provide police clearances of all their registered educators, not older than 6 months. They further advise that in ensuring that these clearances are accurate and valid, that schools arrange that fingerprint scanning is done at the school with the relevant staff so as to avoid fraudulent submissions.

Additional information on SACE registration is available on the SACE website.

School Registration

All independent schools have their right of establishment enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Section 29(3), which states that:

Everyone has the right to establish and maintain at their own expense, independent educational institutions that:

a) do not discriminate on the basis of race;
b) are registered with the state;
c) maintain standards that are not inferior to standards at comparable public educational institutions.

Provincial education departments (PEDs) are responsible for registering independent schools in their province. PEDs also have the responsibility to monitor independent schools to ensure effective implementation of teaching and learning programmes and the achievement of outcomes and standards of the National Curriculum Statement

Independent schools have to operate within the confines of the Constitution and national and provincial legislation. However, critical to their independence is the freedom of a school to use its professional judgement to make decisions without undue state interference.