President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on 12 February 2026, announced Government’s priorities for the Basic Education Sector: “Our focus now is on establishing a firm foundation for learning in the early years of a child’s life. We are expanding access to Early Childhood Development (ECD) through the Bana Pele Mass Registration of ECD facilities and an increase in subsidies for ECD learners. By making Grade R compulsory, we are getting all children off to a good start. We are intensifying efforts to fix the basic education system, with a focus on early learning, literacy and numeracy, and Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE)”.
President Ramaphosa delivered the 2026 SoNA during a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces in the Cape Town City Hall under the theme: “A Nation that Works for All”.
The President added that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are crucial. More than a quarter of children under five are stunted, increasing their risk of disease and affecting their ability to learn and grow: “This year, we will embark on a mission to end child stunting by 2030 and tackle malnutrition among young children, in line with the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children”. The DBE is strengthening the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) and piloting an ECD nutrition programme to prevent child stunting caused by malnutrition.
During the launch of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results earlier this year, Basic Education Minister, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, compared the education system to the Baobab tree. No tree grows tall when its roots are weak and no education system transforms a nation whilst its foundations are weak: “We are strengthening early learning, expanding access whilst driving quality and readiness. Strengthening the foundations of learning is a national project. The new course we have set for the basic education system is defined by deep roots, strong foundations and long vision”.
President Ramaphosa also congratulated the Class of 2025, which achieved an 88% pass rate: “This is the highest pass rate in our history, reflecting both the commitment of these learners and the interventions we have made to improve learning and teaching in schools. As we welcome improvements in the matric pass rate, we must address the high dropout rate in the last few years of schooling. More learners must be able to write matric and to take subjects, like Maths and Science, which will enable them to progress further,” he added.
To enable the youth to transform society and secure their future, the ground is being prepared for a skills revolution; this includes improving the use of TVET colleges as the primary sites for occupational training and artisan development. The President announced: “I have directed the Ministers of Finance and Higher Education to work on a proposal to build more universities and TVET colleges with specialised areas of focus”. During the recent Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, President Ramaphosa encouraged stronger collaboration between the Departments of Basic Education and Higher Education and Training to ensure post-school opportunities.
President Ramaphosa concluded that “a stronger South Africa is built on strong communities, and strong communities look after their children. Our nation has reached a turning point. We are leaving behind an era of decline and turning towards an era of prosperity and growth. The year 2026 must be a year of transformative change”.