The Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, participated in the Frank Dialogue on the Future of Education and Skills Development, hosted by Frank Dialogue and facilitated by renowned broadcaster and academic, Prof JJ Tabane. Held against the backdrop of South Africa's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto Uprising, the Dialogue that took place at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, on 18 June 2026, brought together leaders from government, academia, business, civil society, organised labour and the youth sector to reflect on the future of education and skills development in South Africa.

The engagement provided a platform for robust discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing the education sector, including curriculum transformation; foundational learning; skills development; digital learning; youth empowerment; and the role of education in driving economic growth and social mobility.

Minister Gwarube delivered a response to the discussions and engaged directly with delegates on government’s strategic reorientation of the basic education system to strengthen the foundations of learning; expand access to quality Early Childhood Development (ECD); improve literacy and numeracy outcomes; support teacher development; advance inclusive education; and build safer schools.

Minister Gwarube shared some of the progress made: “In the last two years, we have undertaken the most significant reorientation of the basic education system toward foundational learning in a generation:

• We have expanded access to quality Early Childhood Development at a historic scale. 
• Since 2021, registrations of ECD programmes have increased by over 200%. 
• Last year we set an ambitious target to register 10,000 ECD centres in 1 year, we exceeded that target by registering 13,300 ECD centres. 
• We have put aside R10 billion towards ECD subsidies for 3 years. 
• We have invested R496 million in the Education Outcomes Based Fund to create 115,000 ECD spaces in our most rural provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo. 
• In March 2026, we issued the request for proposals to pilot ECD nutrition in ECD centres across the Eastern Cape. This is to deal with stunting caused by malnutrition before children turn 5. 
• Today, approximately 1.2 million children are accessing registered ECD programmes across South Africa”.

The Minister added that “these are not paper achievements. They have real life impact. They mean that more than 1,2 million children will arrive at school ready to learn, able to read, able to hold a pencil and count confidently. More children are developing language skills early than at any time in history. More children are building the cognitive foundations that will determine their future educational success, than any time in history. We are building strong foundations for strong futures”.