Local NPO, The Love Trust, has joined forces with Belgium’s University of Antwerp in an effort to strengthen school-based teacher training
South Africa’s education sector faces a critical shortage of teachers, with projections indicating that nearly half the current workforce will retire in the next decade. Addressing this crisis requires more than policy reform. It demands practical, school-based models that prepare teachers before they enter the classrooms as full-time teachers.
The Love Trust has responded with a research-led partnership with the University of Antwerp, in a new approach to practical hours.
Tracking change: from vision to research
Director of Academics at The Love Trust, former teacher and school leader, Silas Pillay, initiated the School-Based Teacher Internship (SBTI) programme in 2023 with just two interns. It has since grown to partner with several South-African universities and supports a growing cohort of student teachers.
What distinguishes SBTI from traditional teaching practice placements is its depth. Rather than the traditional short, observational blocks, as full-time students, the interns are embedded in the school environment, participating in distance learning but placed in a full-time mentoring school.
Pillay is a strong proponent for stronger hours dedicated to in-class development, saying, “Teacher development cannot be an afterthought. We are not just placing interns in classrooms; we are intentionally forming future educators.”
Pillay’s PhD research through North-West University adopted a Participatory Action Learning and Research (PALAR) approach. A cyclical, collaborative method where mentors, interns, and leaders co-create improvements in real time. This ensured that research findings translated directly into programme refinement.
What the 2025 research revealed
The PALAR study surfaced both strengths and pressure points within the internship model.
| Finding | What It Revealed |
| ● Professional learning communities strengthened mentor growth | ● Mentors benefited from structured collaboration |
| ● Recruitment processes needed clearer criteria | ● Clear alignment was required between intern expectations and school culture |
| ● Feedback mechanisms were inconsistent | ● Intern experiences varied depending on the mentor’s approach |
| ● Excessive paperwork and time pressures | ● Administrative inefficiencies reduced mentoring quality |
| ● Limited tools to track intern growth | ● No structured system for professional development monitoring |
The research confirmed that, while the programme was strong, it required more cohesive systems to ensure measurable growth. Pillay cements his belief that the feedback systems need to be measurable and data-led, “Research must lead to action. When gaps emerged, we responded by building systems that strengthen feedback, structure, and measurable growth.”
2026 interventions
The Love Trust responded decisively, translating each research finding into targeted action.
| Finding | Action Implemented |
| ● Need for stronger mentor collaboration | ● Formalised PLC’s (Professional Learning Communities) |
| ● Inconsistent recruitment alignment | ● Refined selection processes and clearer intern onboarding |
| ● Variable feedback quality | ● Development of structured feedback frameworks |
| ● Lack of growth tracking tools | ● Commissioned the development of an online intern dashboard |
This implementation phase included academic leaders, IT specialists, productivity consultants, and donor-supported staff, recognising that educational innovation requires operational excellence.
In parallel with the intern dashboard, a mentor-teacher dashboard is being developed to support reciprocal professional growth.
Online dashboard: ushering in the new era of self-regulated learning
Anne Moens, a Master’s student in Training and Educational Science at the University of Antwerp, joined forces with The Love Trust as a research intern to design the online dashboard, the new measurement tool.
The problem was clear: there was no unified platform enabling interns to evaluate their professional development over time. Motivation sometimes dipped after placement, and feedback was not always tracked. Moens’s passion for both teaching and technology collided perfectly within the dashboard development. “The dashboard empowers interns to track their growth. It builds reflective, self-regulated teachers who stay motivated beyond their internship.”
The dashboard introduces:
- Bi-weekly structured self-evaluations
- Mentor feedback aligned to professional competencies
- Visual tracking of growth over time
- Gap analysis between current performance and desired goals
The aim is not surveillance but a cohesive approach to ensuring data and feedback with the integrity to support a self-disciplined approach to teacher and mentor development. Firmly structured self-evaluation builds planning skills, critical thinking, discipline, and resilience, essential traits for teachers serving complex communities, particularly in the face of a looming teacher shortage.
A model for systemic change
The Love Trust’s broader ecosystem strengthens this initiative. Nokuphila School maintains near-perfect pass rates, supported by a robust school-based support team and partnerships with the University of Johannesburg and SACAP psychology departments. Over 120 learners received counselling support in 2025 alone.
This culture of accountability and early intervention extends naturally to teacher formation. Looking ahead, the internship hopes to position The Love Trust as a recognised example in pre-service teacher development and serve as a scalable framework for other schools.
In addressing South Africa’s teacher shortage, The Love Trust is not waiting for systemic reform. It is modelling it. Tomorrow’s teachers are not simply being trained. They are being intentionally developed within a system designed to measure, mentor, and multiply impact.
Director of Academics at The Love Trust, Silas Pillay.
Master’s student in Training and Educational Science at the University of Antwerp, Anne Moens.