The Director-General of Basic Education, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, convened the Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM) Workshop bringing together national and provincial senior education officials to engage in strategic discussions aimed at strengthening the performance of the Basic Education Sector by exchanging insights, and sharing best practices, whilst exploring collaborative approaches. The workshop commenced with a site visit to Katlehong Engineering School of Specialisation in Springs on 17 August 2026, where delegates from the DBE, PEDs and the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) were afforded an opportunity to observe innovative educational practices. This was followed by a collaborative workshop session involving national and provincial education officials, providing a platform for robust discussions and the exchange of ideas on improving educational outcomes. Proceedings concluded with a HEDCOM closed session on 18 August 2026, deliberating on critical issues affecting the Sector, focusing on strategic matters that require consideration and endorsement at the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) level.

The CEM serves as the highest decision-making body within the Basic Education Sector, providing strategic direction on key education matters. It is through this structure that education policies and major sector priorities are considered, refined, and approved before their promulgation and implementation. The key attributes that were tabled for discussion during the recent HEDCOM programme included the South-South Technical Learning Exchange on Quality Foundational Learning; Foundation Phase (FP) Curriculum Support Programmes; State of Learner Performance; Progress Review on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Implementation; and Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) Implementation.

Through its continued collaborative efforts and commitment to improving quality education, the DBE remains resolute that the best global practices are a cornerstone in leveraging collaborative practices to inform and strengthen its strategic interventions in the early grades. Consequently, the DBE has recently deployed a team of national and provincial senior education officials to Brazil to participate in the India, Brazil, and South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum organised as part of the South-South Technical Learning Exchange on Quality Foundational Learning. During the HEDCOM, it was confirmed that South Africa and Brazil have a shared common goal in terms of managing education administration, particularly in prioritising foundations for learning in public schools. Brazil’s education system is a shared responsibility across federal, state, and municipal levels. Brazil's success demonstrates that sustainable foundational learning improvement comes from coherent system-wide reform and collaboration, strong implementation, shared accountability, and an unwavering focus on learner outcomes.

Participants at the HEDCOM Workshop agreed that South Africa has much to learn from Brazil’s experiences in advancing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN). Delegates highlighted the need for greater collaboration, stronger partnerships, and more coordinated approaches to enhance the effectiveness and impact of FLN strategies across the Basic Education Sector. South Africa remains an active participant in the IBSA Dialogue Forum, a trilateral partnership established in 2003 to promote political dialogue, strengthen economic cooperation, and support collaborative development initiatives among participating countries. The presentation was broadly discussed during the HEDCOM, to the extent that some participants went as far as advising the DBE to consider investing more resources in the Foundation Phase, with special attention to teacher provisioning for improving home language teaching in primary schools.

HEDCOM participants welcomed the insights shared from various presentations and expressed their appreciation to various presenters for prioritising foundational learning in their submissions and the proposed way forward. The positive mindset on the value of foundational learning has gained the required momentum across the board and will remain contextually relevant in the curriculum diversification processes by way of amplifying effective implementation of the Three Stream Model, promotion of Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST) Subjects and digital education in schools. The participants applauded the DBE for showing keen interest in accelerating the establishment of focus schools across all 75 Education Districts to broaden career pathways as early as Grade 9. Reflecting on learner participation and success rate in Mathematics, HEDCOM participants were convinced that the Sector could do more in promoting MST subjects in schools and urged the DBE to develop strategies that can be used to boost learner numbers by enhancing access and performance in MST subjects. The participants further called on the DBE to ensure that learners who acquire skills in special schools are eventually linked with industry or the job market.

The HEDCOM also noted several issues that continue to challenge the stability of the Basic Education Sector. Matters discussed during the HEDCOM Workshop will be tabled for further deliberation at the physical CEM Workshop scheduled for 17 September 2026. This will be followed by the CEM Meeting on 18 September 2026, where recommendations and proposals endorsed at HEDCOM will be presented for discussion, consideration, and approval.