WCED extends contracts of teacher assistants By Sisonke Mlamla Share Cape Town - The Western Cape Education Department has extended the Basic Education Employment Initiative until the end of April. It was meant to end on March 31. Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said over the past few months 19 011 young people have been working in their schools as education assistants or general school assistants as part of the national Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI). Schäfer said education assistants support teachers with administrative tasks, classroom management, sports coaching and cultural activities, while the general school assistants helped with maintenance, cleaning, vegetable gardens, and general administration.