Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, after completing the 2026 Learner Support and Monitoring Programme, which covered all the 75 districts started this week with Heads-Up meetings involving the DBE, Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) and District officials to reflect and attend to urgent matters in the Basic Education Sector. Heads-Up meetings are the first of their kind in the Sector. The agenda with individual provinces covered the following: Format and delivery of presentations; Quality and validity of data on learner performance; Time and format of DG’s meetings with District Extended Management team members; Time and format of DG’s meetings with learners; Focus on underperforming Schools and Circuits; and the Role of various officials in the value chain of support and monitoring; Institutionalization and regularity of accountability sessions.

Mr Mweli recently completed his visits to all 75 education districts through the 2026 Learner Support and Monitoring Programme, after which he commenced with his Heads-Up meetings with PEDs and Districts on the 2026 Learner Support and Monitoring Programme: “During my visit to all 75 education districts, critical issues were raised, and these need to be addressed ahead of the commencement of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations”. He outlined the purpose of the Heads-Up meetings with all nine PEDs as follows: “We have observed that glaring weaknesses are in the Foundation Phase; Intermediate Phase; the Senior Phase is the weakest part of our schooling system; and the Class of 2026 is weaker than the previous classes. Urgent attention is needed to address the identified weaknesses.”

In his opening address, Mr Mweli honoured the contribution of strong women in education during Women’s Month, ranging from the Minister, the Deputy Minister, to School Principals, citing the important role they continue to play within the education system. Mr Mweli noted that the format, times, venues and range of the 2027 Learner Support and Monitoring Programme will be changing as from the new academic year, with a sustained intensified focus across all grades. He called for enhanced support and monitoring for schools in particular as Grades 8 and 9 suffer neglect in high schools. “Schools that are regularly monitored and supported perform better,” he added.

Part two of the Heads-Up online meetings was a reflection on the 2026 Learner Support Programme with all provincial officials and district directors being presented with an opportunity to provide input about challenges experienced. This week, DG Mweli met with the following provinces: the Eastern Cape; the Free State; Limpopo; KwaZulu-Natal; Northern Cape; Mpumalanga and the Western Cape to, as part four of the programme, provide an update on the Quarter 1 and 2 Reports of the Class of 2026 per district and provincially, as well as improvement plans for focussed support to tie up loose ends; and plug gaps ahead of the upcoming examinations. Next week, Mr Mweli will be meeting with the remaining two provinces, the North West and Gauteng.

Ms Mataole Ramohapi, Director in the Office of the DG, gave a presentation on the format and delivery of presentations, highlighting a list of issues: districts did not specify specific home languages offered from Grades R to 12; not all districts provided information on their Inclusive Basket; Foundation Phase districts were underperforming in Home Languages, especially African Home Languages; in the Intermediate Phase, underperformance continues in Home Languages with African languages leading, followed by Afrikaans, Social Sciences, Mathematics and Natural Sciences; in the Senior Phase, the worst performing phase of the system, huge variants in subjects such as Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Economic and Management Sciences are experienced between Grades 7 and 8; in the Further Education and Training Band, there is a drop in the performance of Grade 10, then improvement in Grades 11 and 12 because of the learners that are retained in Grades 10 and 11 to improve their performance in Grade 12.

A joint presentation on the quality and validity of SA-SAMS data on learner performance was presented by the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and the Data Driven Districts Programme. Mr Hilton Visagie, Director for the Examinations System and Administration Directorate, gave a presentation on underperforming schools and circuits, highlighting the added value of the Provincial, District and Circuit Subjects Participation and Performance Analysis. Mr James Ndlebe, Chief Director: Planning and Implementation Support, explained the role of various officials such as Subject Advisors, Circuit Managers; and District Learner Support Officials in the value chain of support and monitoring, urging schools to conduct regular war rooms as part of the Last Push intervention programme.

As a way forward, Mr Mweli stressed the need for his Five Golden Nuggets for Academic Achievement to be shared, printed and mounted in all classrooms across the country to motivate the Class of 2026: “to attend school every day on time as regular attendance is key to success; to pay attention in class, to listen carefully and observe what teachers say and do in every lesson; to follow a personal study timetable to study at least two subjects for six hours daily; to use quality resources such as study materials wisely and to take notes in class, using materials from teachers and access past examination papers on the DBE website, and using YouTube for additional learning. In conclusion, the nuggets urge learners to be their brother’s and sister’s keeper, by supporting and uplifting fellow learners to succeed together”.