Mr Salie Faker, Chief Director for Teachers, Education, Human Resources and Institutional Development, chaired the engagement with the North West Province on 3 February 2026: “We expect discussions to be robust, but purposeful as we interact with assessment data and research to share best practice”.

North West HoD, Mr Lengane Bogatsu, said that the engagement with the DBE is an annual induction, and that the presentations provide a sense of direction in terms of critical priority programmes and how the province merges into that space. He added that “although, DG Mweli has set the provincial target for this year to be above 90%, the North West is ambitiously determined to achieve our goal and our target for this year is set for 95%. We spent last week reflecting on our operational plan, along with the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) to ensure the optimal integration of circuits and districts to enhance implementation”. In congratulating the province on their improved performance, DG Mweli encouraged them to continue with their upward trajectory: “The North West has been in position four for many years; if KwaZulu-Natal can move to the top, so can you! This is a multi-layered exercise, and the Auditor-General of South Africa is also in the house to share audit findings and recommendations on how we can improve the system together”. The North West Province obtained 88.49% during the NSC examinations. The estimated size of the Class of 2026 is 45,911 learners.

Ms Simoné Geyer, DDG for Delivery and Support, chaired the provincial engagement with the Mpumalanga Province on 4 February 2026. Sharing the purpose of the engagement, she added that: “The schools, circuits, districts and provinces are indeed the pillars that strengthen effective service delivery, and we look forward to receiving your provincial presentation to establish readiness for the 2026 academic year. We trust that the reports that the DBE is sharing with you will be factored into your provincial plans”.

Mpumalanga HoD, Ms Lucy Moyane, praised the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, saying that the annual platform has inspired the team with fresh ideas and energy to continue to enrich the lives of South African children. “We recently convened our annual engagement with school principals to look at our 2026 learner performance improvement plan to prepare adequately for the new academic year. She used the opportunity to express her gratitude to the Mpumalanga team of school principals, circuit and district directors, as well as provincial officials and senior management: “You help us to shine; you are indeed a dedicated team, and we carry a strong sense of shared purpose. We will use the knowledge gained from the DBE and partners to further strengthen best practice, whilst remaining committed to continued quality service delivery as the province of the rising sun”.

Messrs Elijah Nkosi and Chukudu Manyabeane led the presentations across the four education districts on behalf of the Mpumalanga team. The province obtained a pass rate of 86.55% in the NSC examinations. The estimated size for the Class of 2026 is 67,754 learners. The province was advised to allocate Accommodations and Concessions from the early grades and not only in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. Ms Moyane, in conclusion, said that the province will internalise and integrate the presentations into their programmes to exceed the 91% target, and looking forward to the DBE’s visits to the various education districts within the province as part of the Learner Support Programme.

The Free State engagements on 5 February 2026, were chaired by Mr Paddy Padayachee, DDG for Business Intelligence, who congratulated the province on their performance: “The Class of 2025 achieved a pass rate of 89.33% during the NSC examinations, in keeping with their excellent performance”.

Deputy Director-General, Mr Tsatsi Montso, addressed officials on behalf of Free State HoD, Adv Tsoarelo Malakoane: “We wish to express our gratitude to primary school principals, the foot soldiers in particular, as well as circuit managers and district directors, who remain at the coalface of education in their role of laying solid foundations; we note this area for strengthening as a priority focus for 2026. He agreed that Social Sciences is a challenge that requires attention, along with the improvement of quality passes and Mathematics performance. He noted the Guidelines for teaching and assessing components in all 11 official spoken languages, adding that the province rallies 100% behind the MTbBE rollout, and that the province will do its utmost to improve performance in literacy and numeracy. The province will also provide a national home language reading coordinator to assist with the 2026 rollout, as well as language vitality. “We have just spent three days in a strategic retreat for a deep dive into the 2025 results to strengthen the human resource in respect of subject advisory and education districts and circuit management”.

The provincial engagements confirm that provinces remain resilient regardless of challenges and well-prepared for the new academic year to ensure that foundational learning is strengthened as the main education priority.