The virtual provincial engagement with the Mpumalanga Province, which took place on 29 October 2025, was chaired by Mr Salie Faker, DBE’s Acting DDG for Teachers, Education, Human Resources and Institutional Development. The session was well attended by 170 officials.
Due to the administration of the NSC examinations, Ms Gugu Mashiteng, Acting Head of Department could not attend the meeting and was represented by Mr Chukudu Manyabeane, who welcomed everyone to the meeting with the Province of the Rising Sun, whilst the presentations were led by Mr Elijah Nkosi. The province indicated that the constructive feedback obtained from the engagement will be translated into a reflection session to improve outputs even further.
The DBE’s Mr Clarence Blignaut, expressed his satisfaction with the innovative provincial game changing foundation learning initiatives to improve reading for meaning. These include the National Reading Literacy 2024 – 2030, used to compile National Sector Reading Reports; grade-appropriate booklets for all languages offered in the province to enhance reading proficiency beyond Grade 3; and the Systemic Improvement of Languages and Numeracy (SLIN) or Hluma Project, targeting two districts in the province.
Ms Mataole Ramohapi, from the Office of the DG, said that Mpumalanga is the only province that is performing well in Social Sciences in the Intermediate Phase and suggested that best practice is shared. She added that Art and IT subjects were not offered in all districts to equip learners with the skills for a changing world, and that this should be addressed.
The DBE’s Mr Mfana Phonela, cautioned that South African Sign Language (SASL) specialists are required and should be appointed at special schools to ensure that the performance of learners with special needs are not compromised.
Dr Naledi Mbude-Mehana, DBE’s DDG for Transformation Programmes, National Language Unit (NLU), complimented the province on its comprehensive reporting on foundational literacy, but indicated that reading activities should be linked and aligned to a bigger strategy to address the small gaps that result in cumulative disfluency in later phases. She indicated that the province needs to work closely with the NLU in this regard, appealing for continued advocacy in respect of MTbBE across schools and districts to ensure language vitality.
On Focus Schools, the province indicated that it has increased its Agricultural Schools to 26, but that a shortage of specialised teachers in the subject prevails. The province added that a total of 54 technical schools; 101 Mathematics and Science Schools; and the Lucky Dube Arts and Culture School, Ermelo, have been established.
In respect of the NSC examinations, 78,908 candidates are writing at 583 examination centres. A total number of 195,603 learners have been placed for the 2026 academic year, with 19,512 unplaced learners, and District and Circuit Admission Committees have been established with mitigating strategies in place for the provision of mobile and additional classrooms. A total of 2,280 newly qualified teachers has been appointed, with induction programmes and mentoring being provided. In both provinces, it was agreed that the Basic Education Employee Initiative (BEEI) has been instrumental, adding value, within schools.