Basic Education Minister, Mrs Angie Motshekga, convened her first meeting with district directors and senior DBE and Provincial Education Department (PED) officials on 10 March 2023. The virtual session commenced with a moment of silence in honour of the late Free State Education MEC, Dr Tate Makgoe. “His dedication towards improving the education system and commitment to providing quality education to all learners will not be forgotten,” the Minister said.

The meeting was chaired by Ms Simoné Geyer, Deputy Director-General for Delivery and Support: “Although this is the first official Ministerial meeting with district directors for the year, Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, hosted his engagement meetings with provinces during February and provincial officials attended the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla earlier this year. These meetings provide an opportunity for us to share best practice for improved academic performance and to close the gaps in identified priority areas”.

Senior DBE officials delivered insightful presentations on the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Integrated District Support Model; Learner Admissions and Registrations; the Data Driven Districts (DDD) dashboard; the Learning Recovery Plan; the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI); and Sanitation and Infrastructure. Provinces also had an opportunity to present their reports on Circuit Performance. All provinces reported an improvement in Circuit Performance which is an indication of quality. Free state, Gauteng and Western Cape reported that all their circuits performed above 65% in the 2022 National Senior Certificate Examination.

Minister Motshekga congratulated provinces on their improved academic performance during 2022 in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination and expressed her gratitude to all district directors for their resilience during this challenging period as the first line of defence. “Along with our circuit managers, you remain the heartbeat of the sector. We must now shift our focus towards quality. To this end, I am pleased to announce that the National Assessments and Public Examinations analysis is moving away from league tables towards the inclusive basket. As we celebrate the anniversary of the function migration, there is a lot to do with ECD, our new baby in the house. We have embarked on many projects to ensure better and more effective resourcing of early childhood education. These include the ECD Census, which is helping the Department establish more robust planning systems, and the Thrive by Five Index, which is assisting the Department in strategically targeting its support. We are also driving the process of redrafting the Children’s Second Amendment Bill to make registration and access to funding more easily accessible to all ECD programmes. Guided by our anticipated Integrated ECD Service Delivery Model and Framework, based on the Five Pillars of Early Learning to bring all stakeholders on board, we need to prioritise access and quality,” the Minister said.

“We must continue with the Learning Recovery Plan and pay attention to Home Languages, emphasizing languages in the Foundation Phase. To this end, the Early Grade Reading Assessments (EGRA) are reaping benefits. I am delighted to report that the Teacher Assistants project is gaining momentum, and we are now in Phase IV of its implementation. We anticipate the enhancement of our Second Chance Matric Support Programme and a Career Expo to address youth unemployment. The Integrated District Support Programme, developed in collaboration with the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT), identifies leadership, management, and content knowledge for subject advisors as areas where district officials need support. Proper nutrition is essential for our learners’ mental and physical growth. The National School Nutrition Programme that has successfully offered meals and created jobs for the local communities, should be expanded to fight malnutrition and stunting. Vaccinations must complement this to protect learners against threats such as Monkeypox and Measles. Collaborating with other departments and municipalities remains crucial to the success of the basic education sector, through the District Development Model. I am confident that this will be another great year for education, and I wish you all the best in today’s deliberations and the year ahead,” the Minister concluded.

DG Mweli highlighted the following: on pension benefits and unclaimed pensions, the DBE will commission a study to continue to improve turn-around times. “There is nothing as painful as people who have spent their entire lives committed to the education sector and then battle to access their benefits. In addition, the Integrated ECD Service Delivery Model requires several engagements with districts to ensure that the model gets off the ground. We need to organise various engagements with stakeholders around the Five Pillars to examine this vehicle to accelerate the delivery of quality ECD programmes.” In respect of infrastructure and inappropriate and unsafe sanitation facilities, the DG reminded delegates that, due to South Africa being a water scarce country, not all pit toilets can be eradicated and replaced with waterborne toilets; however, the focus should remain on safe and appropriate sanitation delivery. The request was for district directors to verify infrastructure data; to submit updated infrastructure data; and to assist in the prioritisation of infrastructure projects for all backlogs for national data to be updated via the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) and for backlogs to be addressed. District directors remain instrumental service delivery agents at the coalface level of the sector.