During the 2025/26 Budget Vote Debate on 10 July 2025, Basic Education Deputy Minister, Dr Reginah Mhaule honoured the memory of the departed Former Deputy President of the Republic, Mr David Mabuza, “a leader who stood resolute in his unwavering support for education as a cornerstone of national development,” she said.
“The Budget Vote we support today is not just about rands and cents, it is about investing in the value systems that sets up the social fabric and the soul of our nation. It is about ensuring that every child, regardless of their social standing or geographic location, has a fair and equal opportunity to interphase with the learning processes the country can offer. It is worth noting that this year marks 31 years since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, as we celebrate this milestone, it would be remiss of me not to remind this House of the remarkable legacy of the Democratic-led government, which has for three decades worked tirelessly to dismantle the fragmented and racially exclusionary education system inherited from the previous regime. In a historic milestone, South Africa marks 70 years since the adoption of the Freedom Charter, we have steadfastly replaced them with progressive, inclusive education frameworks aimed at restoring the dignity of all learners and improving access to quality basic education,” the Deputy Minister added, listing the strides made.
The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme and strengthening ECD Development Rooted in Home Language, Building a Foundation for Long Life Learning remains a priority. The total allocated budget for Grade R in public schools has seen a significant increase, rising to R6.7 billion for the 2025/26 financial year affirming unwavering commitment to strengthening early childhood education in the country. We take pride in the Department’s decision to prioritise the registration and oversight of ECD centres through the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive as both urgent for, and paramount to the development of a better and educated South Africa.
The National School Nutrition Programme continues to serve a total of 9 million learners daily with nutritious meals. Since 2009, the programme has positively impacted upon the ability of children to learn by combating malnutrition, reducing hunger and improving school attendance.
In 2015, Cabinet approved the National Learner Transport Policy as a bold step in advancing Government’s pro-poor agenda to advance access to educational facilities which would otherwise have been hard to reach and devoid of any aspiration or motivation. To date, this inclusive initiative has benefited over 710,000 learners, affirming our commitment to removing barriers to education and promoting social justice.
Since 1994, Government has made significant strides in addressing the legacy of inherited inappropriate school infrastructure, prioritising the eradication of mud schools and the replacement of pit latrines. Out of the 1,000 schools initially constructed with inappropriate materials, significant progress has been made over time. With the expansion of the infrastructure programme in 2011 through ASIDI, 510 schools were identified as inappropriate. Whilst the complete elimination of such challenges remains ongoing, the sector continues to make determined progress toward creating safe, dignified and conducive learning environments for all learners and educators. All the 331 schools constructed of inappropriate material have been replaced with brick and mortar structures.
On Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM), the sector has distributed millions of workbooks from Grade R to 9 to tackle poor literacy and numeracy since 2011. These are not mere booklets they are a response to deep-rooted inequality and poor learning outcomes. Workbooks in 11 official languages support early learning in Maths, Life Skills, and Languages.
As she concluded, Deputy Minister Mhaule said: “I wish to express profound gratitude to the Minister for her visionary leadership, Members of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, the Director-General and our tireless officials within the Department, to our provincial partners standing united in this national mission, and to our steadfast stakeholders whose unwavering commitment fuels our progress. Above all, I honour the true architects of our nation’s future, the educators and parents, whose resilience and determination embody the spirit of our collective journey toward a prosperous and equitable society”.