The Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana, this week, tabled the 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in Parliament, Cape Town, ahead of the 2027 National Budget, and after the Budget Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR) process. This allows government departments to apply for adjustments to their budgets, rollovers, and additional funds for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditures.
During October 2026, Basic Education Minister, Ms Siviwe Gwarube and Deputy Minister, Dr Reginah Mhaule, accompanied by the Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli and the Deputy Director-General for Finance and Administration, Mr Pat Khunou, briefed both the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education and the Select Committee on Education, Sciences and Creative Industries on the 2025/26 Annual Performance Plan and Report. The Department’s reporting entities, Umalusi and the South African Council for Educators were also presented with an opportunity to report, along with the Auditor-General of South Africa as part of the annual BRRR process.
In her opening address on 6 October 2026, Minister Gwarube said that the BRRR was not merely a procedural formality, but one of Parliament's most important instruments for giving practical meaning to its constitutional responsibility to exercise oversight and hold the Executive accountable: “Public funds were not simply figures on a spreadsheet; every rand appropriated to the Department had to be accounted for in terms of added value. The central question should not simply be how much had been spent, but also what had been achieved, who had benefited, what had changed as a consequence of the expenditure, which targets had not been met and why, and what corrective measures had been implemented to prevent the recurrence of shortcomings.”
In highlighting Departmental achievements, Deputy Minister Mhaule said, on 20 October 2026, that financial constraints and infrastructure challenges remain a reality: “Although schools have been built in rural areas, many families are relocating to urban areas, resulting in overcrowding and admission challenges, especially in the Gauteng and Western Cape Provinces”. She added that the BRRR process assists in identifying blind spots to ensure that expenditure translates into meaningful educational outcomes.
Ms Nosipho Mbonambi, Director for Strategic Planning, reported on the DBE’s performance covering five programmes: Administration; Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring; Teacher Education, Human Resources and Institutional Development; Planning, Information and Assessment; and Educational Enrichment Services. The DBE received an unqualified audit opinion with material findings. On the 66 performance indicators, 60 (91%) were achieved, whilst six (9%) were not achieved. In terms of shortfalls, four indicators under Programme 2 and two under Programme 4 were not achieved. These related to ECD subsidy beneficiaries; National Senior Certificate (NSC) candidates achieving 60% and above in Mathematics and Physical Sciences; learners with disabilities enrolled in special schools; and the Early Learning National Assessment (ELNA) literacy and numeracy outcomes.
On financial performance, the Department reported spending R37.5 billion, or 98.6%, of its R38.2 billion budget. Underspending was attributed to delays in the ECD nutrition pilot project, ECD resource packages, training under the Basic Education Employment Initiative and capital assets, as well as the winding down of the School Infrastructure Backlogs Grant. On corrective measures, the DBE indicated that it would improve ECD reporting through the e-Cares digital system and standardise reporting processes; strengthen Mathematics and Physical Sciences teaching and assessment, strengthen implementation of the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) Policy; and intensify literacy and numeracy interventions through reading programmes, Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education, teacher development, learning materials and the Mathematics Improvement Programme.