Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, this week, commenced with his annual virtual engagement meetings with departmental, provincial and district officials during the month of October to ensure the state of readiness of provinces to host the 2026 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, commencing on 13 October 2026, and for provinces to be prepared for the 2027 academic year.
These engagements include Senior Managers; District Directors; Chief Education Specialists for Curriculum and Examinations; Curriculum Coordinators; General Education and Training (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET) Subject Advisors; and Circuit Managers to ensure the best interest of the learner. The first engagement commenced with the North West Province on 6 October and the meetings with all nine provinces will conclude with the Mpumalanga Province on 16 October 2026, to sustain the upward trajectory that the sector has demonstrated over the past few years.
DG Mweli hosts two sets of annual engagements with provinces and districts. The first phase of his engagements take place during the beginning of each academic year to contribute towards the implementation of programmes to improve learning outcomes across provinces. During these sessions, DBE officials present the topics drawn from various line functions informed by assessment data and other sources to gauge progress made in the sector and remind the audience about targets to be achieved in the new academic year. Provinces then play the role of the audience, whilst the DBE presents.
The second phase of the engagements are hosted during October, ahead of the NSC examinations, where provincial officials present on their identified key topics in driving the performance of the sector, whilst DBE officials contribute through comments and questions as the audience to provide support and leadership.
“I have personally engaged with and visited all 75 districts earlier this year leading up to the NSC examinations to ensure that Last Push activities were in place as part of our Learner Support Programme,” DG Mweli said. During these visits, he met with district officials and School Management Teams (SMTs) and motivated the Class of 2026 to remain focussed and committed to academic excellence during the upcoming examinations. Mr Mweli shared five golden nuggets with the Class of 2026 to encourage and motivate them to outperform the Class of 2025.
Engagement with the North West Province
Mr James Ndlebe, Acting DDG for Delivery and Support, who chaired the meeting with the North West Department of Education (NWDoE) on behalf of DG Mweli, said that a focus on learner performance from Grades R-12 will lay strong foundations for future learning. He shared a few observations: “Where challenges are mentioned, it must be followed by mitigations, responsibilities, and accounting officials. Teacher Development should not only focus on newly appointed teachers but must include School Management Teams (SMTs), Circuit Managers, Subject Advisors and Principals, along with the shared involvement of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the National Education and Collaboration Trust (NECT); discriminatory practices in respect of admissions to exclude certain learners should be guarded against; and Language Policies must be up to date”.
Head of Department (HoD), Mr Lengane Bogatsu, delivered the welcoming address: “We welcome these annual engagements where we converge as a province to access performance across all four education districts, and to ensure that the upcoming NSC examinations are seamlessly conducted; our officials regard the session as a workshop. He expressed his appreciation that the capacity challenges in respect of DDG posts have been addressed. Ms Cheryl Weston, Chief Director of Education Human Resource Development at the DBE, who has been seconded to the NWDoE as the Acting DDG for three months, led the provincial presentations, along with DDG, Dr Shadrack Mvula, as the senior management team. Dr Agnes Motsusi delivered the presentation on Learner Performance, indicating concerns about weak foundations of Home Languages in the Foundation Phase and in Setswana, in particular.
The programme for the online engagements included: Tracking Learner Performance in Terms 1, 2 and 3 across all grades; Internal and External Examinations and Assessment Readiness; Early Childhood Development; Foundational Learning (Numeracy and Literacy); Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE); progress in respect of Focus Schools and Schools of Specialisation; Recruitment and Support to Newly Qualified Teachers; and the State of Readiness for the 2027 academic year. Mr Ndlebe also delivered a presentation on “The Roles and Responsibilities of Circuit Managers”.
Mr Bogatsu mentioned that the Three Stream Model within the province will be strengthened to include Vocational and Technical streams, adding that local mining companies are ready to support Focus Schools with a Mining University anticipated for the near future. He also highlighted the important role that Circuit Managers play within education, adding that there is an uneven distribution of Circuit Managers to schools within the province.
Ms Mataole Ramohapi, Director in the Office of the DG, expressed her appreciation for the comprehensive presentations, voicing support for expanding the 11 focus schools across the province, as well as resourcing: “Commercial focus schools only require teachers, and we need to reintroduce these subjects to increase participation rates”.
The NWDoE updated the DBE about progress in the implementation of the Bana Pele Mass Registration drive citing centres in Bronze; Silver and Gold status per district, and with strategies in place to expand Grade R access in public schools and to improve the qualifications for the 2,800 Grade R Practitioners. Delivery of textbooks to schools is expected to start in November and be finalised by the closing of the December school holidays. The province indicated that it is ready to administer the NSC examinations with the pledge signing ceremony scheduled for 9 October 2026.
In closing, Mr Mweli wished the province well ahead of the examinations with an appeal for continued support and monitoring until the final paper is written. The North West Province achieved a pass rate of 88.49% in 2025.
Engagement with the Northern Cape Province
In his engagement with the Northern Cape Department of Education (NCDoE) on 7 October 2026, Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli said that “the Northern Cape Province surpassed our expectations last year to claim the status of the highest improved province in sixth place, achieving a pass rate of 87.79% He challenged them to improve on this accomplishment”.
Mr Seliki Tlhabane, Acting DDG for Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring, who chaired the engagement on behalf of DG Mweli, agreed that the provincial performance was improving but warned against drifting into complacency. He noted that an Improvement in Home Languages, and especially in Setswana, is required. “When languages are addressed, performance will automatically improve,” he added.
Acting Head of Department (HoD), Dr Michelle Ishmail, in her opening remarks, said that she welcomed these annual engagements and an opportunity to share highlights and challenges on a few key areas for robust discussion. “It is essential for the province to grow and enhance STEM to build skills and capacity to respond to the economic needs of the country.” She acknowledged the essential role of Circuit Managers and thanked the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for their presentation.
Ms Portia Phuzi delivered a powerful presentation on the provincial State of Readiness for the NSC examinations. The province conducted State of Readiness monitoring across all districts and registered 15,294 full-time candidates and 2,492 part-time candidates. There is a stubborn irregularity challenge in respect of cellphones that must be monitored closely,” she added.
Ms Bonita Goetham, from the DBE’s Mathematics, Science and Technology Directorate, confirmed that the Mathematics Improvement Plan (MIP) contributes towards laying strong foundations in teaching Maths for Understanding in the Foundation Phase. A suggestion was for training champions to become coaches to train teachers to sustain the MIP.
Ms Maureen Modiba, Director for Curriculum Implementation and Quality Improvement (GET), said that the performance in languages is still concerning in Setswana and English Home Languages despite Language Improvement Plans. A suggestion from her side on how to ensure the sustainability of the Early Grade Reading Programme (EGRP) after its conclusion in March 2027, for Reading and Literacy Improvement, was also the appointment of champion teachers to be trained as coaches to sustain the programme.
Ms Mataole Ramohapi, Director in the Office of the DG, complimented the province on their user-friendly and detailed presentation. She explained that the under-performance of Grades 8 and 9 learners are a challenge across provinces, suggesting that a diagnostic assessment is conducted to establish which subjects required support. She also suggested that progressed learners receive the required attention to counter a drop in performance; that attention is paid to high flyers; and that the drop in the quality of Bachelor passes is attended to. On a positive note, the Class of 2026 in the Northern Cape Province displayed an increase in performance in the trial examinations, especially in the Pixley ka Seme District where performance is at 90%.
In his presentation on the roles and responsibilities of Circuit Mangers and the annual processes that must take place in every school to contribute towards a functional school environment, Mr James Ndlebe, Acting DDG for Delivery and Support, described the role of a Circuit Manager as a senior official who supervises and supports school principals, ensures curriculum delivery, oversees governance, and drives school improvement within a defined circuit, acting as the key link between schools and the district office, playing a central role in education quality assurance and reform. He also clarified the roles of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and Principals.