The Inter-Provincial Rural Education Committee (IPREC) convened for a two-day strategic meeting from 13 to 14 August 2025 at the Department of Basic Education (DBE), with the aim of strengthening coordination and strategic direction to enhance the quality of education in rural schools across South Africa. IPREC continues to play a pivotal role in guiding the planning, implementation, and monitoring of rural education initiatives, while ensuring inclusive dialogue among partners at all levels.

Bringing together provincial education officials and key stakeholders, the meeting focused on assessing progress, aligning strategies, and empowering education leaders to champion rural education development. A key highlight was a presentation by Mr Sello Mabathoana, on the implementation of the Three-Stream Model under the Education for Employment (E4E) programme, funded by the European Union. The model promotes diverse learner pathways - academic, technical, and vocational - and aims to better prepare learners for various post-school opportunities. However, Dr Phumzile Langa, Director of Rural Education, raised critical concerns about the inclusion of rural schools in the pilot phase, emphasising the need to ensure that rural learners are equitably integrated in any and all programmes aimed at improving learning outcomes. Reiterating Dr Langa’s call for inclusion, Mr Bangilizwe Ngubo, Northern Cape Department of Education Director for Inclusive Education, stressed the importance of aligning the model with Circular S28 of 2023 to support learners with disabilities. He called for adaptations in curriculum and methodology to ensure inclusive participation in technical and occupational streams.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of strategic partnerships and inter-provincial collaboration, with KwaZulu-Natal highlighted as a leading example in stakeholder engagement. Other provinces were encouraged to strengthen cooperation and collaboration between the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC) and Rural Education (RE) initiatives, in order to tap into existing partnerships. Interesting developments were shared by provinces during their presentations. Innovation in digital learning and STEM education is growing, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, while agricultural education in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape continues to enhance community relevance and sustainability. Updates on key curriculum initiatives such as Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) and Entrepreneurship, Employability, and Education initiative (E³) were also shared.

The meeting concluded with a call to intensify efforts in expanding access to Early Childhood Development, inclusive teacher development, and professional recognition. Strengthening monitoring, reporting, and coordination - especially through fully functional Provincial Rural Education Committees (PRECs) - was highlighted as essential for achieving long-term impact.