Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, will again be conducting annual virtual engagements with provincial and district officials, and school principals, from 27 January to 10 February 2026, to ensure the system’s readiness for the 2026 academic year. The first phase of the 2026 engagements with officials and school principals will be followed by a second phase scheduled to commence during October 2026, ahead of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.

DG Mweli explained that the DBE hosts two sets of annual engagements with provinces and districts: “The first phase of the engagements take place during the beginning of each academic year to implement 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”.

The focus of the online engagements will reflect on what worked and what did not work in 2025 to steer the sector towards a continued upward trajectory, commencing with an Analysis of the 2025 Performance of Grade 12. Presentations will cover all phases from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to General Education and Training (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET), with a focus on progress and challenges to ensure a successful academic year based on DBE priorities such as ECD; Accommodations and Concessions; Foundational Learning, focusing on Language, Literacy and Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) Strategies; the Online Teacher Development Platform, along with teacher development plans and priorities; an Analysis of District Presentations; Data Driven Districts; and an update on the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act and Infrastructure. The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) also shares a presentation on the Sector Audit.