Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, this week, commenced with the second phase of his annual engagements with provincial and district officials. Mr Enoch Rabotapi, Acting DDG for the Teachers, Education HR and Institutional Development Branch, chaired the virtual meeting with the North West Department of Education (NWDoE) on 8 October 2025.

DG Mweli explained that two sets of annual engagements are hosted annually: “The first phase of the engagements takes place during the beginning of each academic year to contribute towards the implementation of programmes to improve learning outcomes across provinces. During these sessions, provinces play the role of the audience, whilst the DBE presents. During the second phase of the engagements, 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”. In outlining the purpose of the provincial engagements, DG Mweli said that the first part of the engagement meeting observed the state of readiness for rounding off the academic year in terms of academic coverage, including the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations. The second part of the engagement forms part of the preparations for the new academic year in 2026.

These engagements will engage 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 on various topics. The focus of the online engagements will be on: Tracking Learner Performance in Terms 1, 2 and 3 across all grades; Internal and External Examinations and Assessment Readiness; Early Childhood Development; Foundational Learning; Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE); progress in respect of Focus Schools and Schools of Specialisation; the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI); Rural Education; Recruitment and Support to Newly Qualified Teachers; and the State of Readiness for the 2026 academic year.