D.Litt. et Phil. / The matter of ill-equipped black Afrikaans teachers still remains a topical issue but it appears as though little progress has been made to remedy the situation. In the present research a literature study as well as an empirical investigation, conducted from a number of angles, were undertaken in order to identify the most irksome problems and to accordingly make recommendations towards the development of an in-service program. The literature study serves as the backdrop against which the empirical study was undertaken. The empirical study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the process of triangulation, i.e. deductions were only made after the data presented by each of the empirical components was diagonally compared and verified. The overarching purpose of the empirical study was to pinpoint the shortcomings in the professional outfit of both the teachers and the learning facilitators, and to subsequently determine to what extent the Free State Department of Education succeeds in rectifying them. The study revealed that the teachers experience a number of teaching-related problems and that their interaction with the learning facilitators does not bear much fruit. The learning facilitators are not sufficiently empowered to fulfil their duty as in-service trainers and they consequently experience difficulty in providing effective and purposeful in-service training. It is the duty of the Free State Department of Education to relieve the existing need for in-service training.