The DBE hosted the Heads of Education Departments (HEDCOM) meeting and workshop on 14 and 15 April 2025 respectively, at the Boardwalk Hotel in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape Province. The proceedings were chaired by Director-General Mr Mathanzima Mweli, and attended by Deputy Directors-General, Heads of Departments, senior officials from the nine Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) and both the ETDP-SETA and Umalusi executives and senior managers.
Established in terms of Section 10 of the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No. 27 of 1996), HEDCOM holds a mandate encompassing several critical responsibilities such as the facilitation of the development of the national education system; the enabling of the exchange of pertinent information and diverse perspectives on national education matters; the coordination of administrative actions concerning issues of mutual interest to provincial and national education departments; and the provision of expert counsel to the broader education sector to ensure the effective and proper functioning of the national education system. HEDCOM workshops concentrate on addressing urgent national issues within the education system, connecting these challenges to the overarching education sector plan and aligning them with government priorities.
The two-day session consisted of various presentations providing updates to delegates on the progress in projects that were being run in respective Directorates. The presentations from the first day’s HEDCOM meeting included report-back presentations focused on a range of topical matters inclusive of updates on South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 in relation to the Education Working Group (EWG); an environmental scan and media coverage of education matters and key campaigns in communications; the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP); the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act; Life Skills/Life Orientation Textbooks; and the implementation of the Labour Management Partnership. As this was an intense programme, other notable in-depth engagements were around the key areas of ECD; the Children’s Amendment Bill, 2023; the Review of the School Funding Model; Focus Schools; teacher development; and school infrastructure provisioning.
The second day’s presentations focused on understanding the standardisation process and a discussion on the specific aspects of standardisation such as norm determination and application; Evidence-Based Reporting (EBR); statistical moderation of School-Based Assessment (SBA); and Oral Assessment and Practical Assessment Tasks (PATs). This saw robust and fruitful engagements amongst HEDCOM workshop participants. This session was jointly facilitated by Dr Luvuyo Bono, Chairperson of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) and Dr Cindy Foca, ELRC General Secretary.
The HEDCOM workshop concluded with DG Mweli thanking participants for their invaluable contributions during the two-day deliberations. He indicated that the next HEDCOM workshop will be taking place from 11 – 12 August 2025, in the Western Cape Province.