Mr Gerrit Coetzee is currently the Director Initial Teacher Education at the National Department of Basic Education. His experience as Director: Rural Education and later Director: Strategic Planning and Reporting in the Department of Basic Education afforded him the opportunity to develop strategic capability and leadership competencies. Through these positions and his other diverse experiences in the Public Service he became familiar with various government wide planning policies, systems and processes. As the Director: Initial Teacher Education he is, amongst others, responsible for the management and administration of the R 1 billion Funza Lushaka bursary programme of the Basic Education Sector. In recent years, he also worked closely with the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) in the Presidency to oversee the Evaluation of the Funza Lushaka bursary programme. Currently, he is collaborating with provincial education departments, various partners and stakeholders towards the development of an Induction Programme for novice teachers.