Education reform sits at the heart of South Africa’s G20 Presidency under the theme Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.  A critical enabler of this reform is the ability to harness reliable and comprehensive education data. The Department of Basic Education’s Education Management Information System (EMIS) for school administration - the School Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS) provides South Africa with a national backbone for collecting school-level and learner information at a disaggregated level, making it possible to track progress across foundational learning in schools, teacher qualifications, and professional development. By standardising and centralising school data, SA-SAMS equips officials with the evidence needed to address persistent inequalities, allocate resources more effectively, and align national priorities with global education goals. This positions South Africa to not only strengthen its own system but also to share valuable lessons with G20 peers on how national data infrastructures can underpin inclusive and future-ready education.

Building on this foundation, complementary tools such as the Data Driven Districts (DDD) Dashboard make SA-SAMS data more accessible and actionable for education officials to monitor learner performance. By visualising trends in attendance, learning outcomes, and resource allocation, these tools directly support the G20 Education Working Group’s priorities: enabling early interventions to improve foundational learning, strengthening the comparability of qualifications through reliable national data, and empowering teachers and education professionals with timely insights to adapt in a changing world. The South African experience demonstrates that robust national systems, when paired with innovative data-use practices, can transform governance, foster transparency, and promote social equity. For the G20, this offers a practical, scalable model for aligning education reforms with inclusive growth, sustainability, and resilience in the 21st century.