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Education priorities for the 2025 academic year identified

South Africa has made progress in expanding education access, but Government must now focus on improving quality education. During the announcement of the 2024 NSC examination results on 13 January 2024, Minister Gwarube said that too many learners progress through the basic education system without mastering foundational skills, particularly in literacy and numeracy, which are critical for performing well in gateway subjects like Mathematics and Physical Sciences.

“These deficits accumulate over time, limiting learners' abilities to succeed in higher grades and in these gateway subjects and diminishing their prospects of accessing further education and employment opportunities. This trend manifests itself in the decrease in enrolments in subjects such as Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Accounting and Economics, which are subjects that are critical for a nation’s ability to advance in science, innovation and economic development,” the Minister added, saying that the DBE will embark on the urgent strategic reorientation of the system towards strengthening foundational learning.

The systemic interventions include expanding access to quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) for learners before they enter the basic education system and improving the quality of teaching and learning in the Foundation Phase. Universal access to quality ECD programmes by 2030 remains a central goal and the Department will continue the mass registration drive to formalise ECD programmes, aligned with the National Curriculum Framework for ECD and supported by newly developed learning and teaching support materials. This includes the professional development of ECD practitioners and their integration into the basic education system, as well as the resourcing of ECD centres, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

The DBE will intensify support for teacher training with a strategic focus on improving literacy and numeracy in the Foundation Phase, whilst ensuring that the Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme prioritises students who want to pursue a teaching career in the Foundation Phase. 

“During 2025, we will be reviewing the Post Provisioning Norms to ensure that they account for our drive to achieve universal access to quality Grade R and our strategic focus on improving reading and calculating in the Foundation Phase as these norms have not been updated in over 20 years and determine how educator posts are distributed to public schools”.

By prioritising updates to the National Catalogue of Learning and Teaching Support Materials for the Foundation Phase in 2025, Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) and public schools will be able to purchase textbooks, learning materials and equipment from a comprehensive, educationally sound and linguistically inclusive list that has been specifically approved by experts to achieve national curriculum standards in the Foundation Phase to strengthen curriculum delivery. “If we are to improve the quality of education outcomes, we need to protect teaching and learning time, ensuring that our teachers are at school and teaching for the entire day, for 230 days per year, to ensure adequate coverage of the curriculum,” concluded the Minister. 

National Office
Address: 222 Struben Street, Pretoria
Call Centre: 0800 202 933 | callcentre@dbe.gov.za
Switchboard: 012 357 3000

Certification
certification@dbe.gov.za
012 357 4511/3

Government Departments
Provincial Departments of Education
Government Services

 

National Office
Address: 222 Struben Street, Pretoria
Call Centre: 0800 202 933 | callcentre@dbe.gov.za
Switchboard: 012 357 3000

Certification
certification@dbe.gov.za
012 357 4511/3

Government Departments
Provincial Departments of Education
Government Services

 

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