Members of the Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM) are confident that the implementation of occupational and vocational education and training; the Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Development (ECD); and the Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) programme will reposition the Basic Education Sector towards the attainment of its anticipated learning outcomes in schools. According to the Action Plan to 2024: towards the realisation of schooling 2030, the Sector is expected to deliver education of the highest quality by way of increasing access to quality ECD for children; increasing the number of learners in Grade 3 who, by the end of the year, have mastered the minimum language and numeracy competencies for Grade 3; and improving the average performance of Grade 6 learners in Mathematics across the schooling system.

In paving the way for the implementation of priorities set out in the 7th Administration, Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli and Heads of Education Departments (HoDs) converged at the Seasons Golf, Leisure and Spa in Hartbeespoort in the North West Province from 18 – 19 November 2024, to review key education programmes. These included the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP); the Three Stream Model; the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) and the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE); scholar transport and health promotion. Various education experts including Acting Director for ECD, Dr Janeli Kotze; Acting Deputy Director-General for Teacher Development, Mr Enoch Rabotapi; Acting Deputy Director-General for School Infrastructure, Ms Tsholofelo Diale; and CEO of the ETDP SETA, Ms Nombulelo Nxesi, tabled valuable presentations during the workshop.

In her presentation, Dr Kotze, focused on the status of the ECD mass registration drive in communities. Dr Kotze said that the DBE has made strides in terms of increasing the number of registered ECD centres in South Africa, adding that the DBE will continue to work with various education districts in this regard. Mr Rabotapi made a submission on the Coordination and Resourcing of Teacher Development Programmes. He informed HEDCOM that appropriate teacher development programmes should be considered to ensure that teachers were not left behind in terms of curriculum delivery. Ms Diale delivered her presentation on Infrastructure Planning, Coordination and Delivery, focusing mostly on the projects delivered through the ASIDI and SAFE. Additional inputs were shared by Ms Nxesi from the ETDP SETA. She updated HEDCOM about the review of the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development (ISPFTED) and Proposed Amendments to the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development (NPFTED), critical in strengthening skills development amongst the youth. 

HEDCOM emphasized the importance of inclusive education and urged PEDs to ensure that learners with special needs were supported to acquire quality education in schools. HEDCOM further deliberated on the revised Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2024-2029, which stipulated five key indicators, including access to quality ECD programmes that prepare children for school; modernised management systems for ECD programmes; the proportion of Grade 3 learners reaching the required competency levels in language and literacy skills as assessed through the new Systemic Evaluation by 2029; and the Three-Stream Model expanded through Vocational and Occupational subjects; promoting and protecting South Africa’s diverse languages through curriculum implementation; and promoting programmes to combat discrimination, racism, sexism, hate speech and Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Director-General Mweli indicated that the workshop was pivotal as it afforded HEDCOM an opportunity to reflect on the progress registered by the Sector. Although HEDCOM was satisfied with the work done in respect of ECD registration, it was recommended that the number of ECD centres should be reduced for effective administration, governance and monitoring. HEDCOM further embraced the revised MTDP 2024-2029 and added that it will require the collective effort of education stakeholders to ensure that its anticipated outcomes were achieved as planned.