By Charmaine Ndlela
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) on Monday officially started the national rollout of teacher training workshops in Mpumalanga, to support the implementation of the Online Teacher Development Platform (OTDP).
“The platform is designed to give teachers wider access to development opportunities, allow them to learn at their own pace, and promote teacher agency through individualised training,” DBE media liaison Lukhanyo Vangqa told Inside Education.
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“It enables teachers to reflect on their own classroom practice through guided reflection questionnaires and to focus on content that directly responds to their identified professional needs,” he said.
The 2026 rollout focuses on in-person and online training, supporting the integration of Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) activities.
Vangqa said the primary purpose of the workshops is to popularise the platform among teachers, nationwide.
“These workshops are meant to ensure that teachers are able to navigate and use the platform effectively,” he said.
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“We also want teachers to be fully aware of the content that is available on the platform, to collaborate with other educators, and for subject advisors to be able to schedule and manage their training sessions using the platform.”
Addressing long-standing concerns around the administrative workload faced by teachers, Vangqa said the shift to the OTDP would significantly reduce paperwork.
“One of the biggest complaints from teachers has been the amount of administrative work they have to deal with,” he said.
“This platform changes the training process from a paper-based system to an online one, which will go a long way in reducing the administrative burden.”
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Vangqa said that basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube has appointed an advisory body, the National Education and Training Council (NETC), to address the issue of excessive administration.
“The minister has tasked NETC with looking specifically at how we can alleviate the administrative burden on teachers,” he said.
“They will be making submissions shortly to the administrator, and these proposals are expected to greatly decrease the workload faced by educators.”
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