The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has made a deliberate and sustained investment in building the capacity of universities to train high-quality teachers. Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Buti Manamela said that “our engagement in teacher development is grounded in the belief that meaningful and lasting transformation of the education system can only be achieved through strong partnerships and collaboration. No single department, institution, or sector can do this work alone. This platform reflects a shared understanding that our mandates are deeply interconnected, and that system coherence is not a slogan, but a necessity”.

Minister Manamela added that, “the Foundation Phase, spanning Grades R to 3, is not simply an early stage of schooling; it is the bedrock upon which the entire education system stands. It is during these formative years that children develop the cognitive, social, emotional, and linguistic foundations that shape their relationship with learning for life. The quality of foundational learning in classrooms is inseparable from the quality of teaching and scholarship within higher education institutions”. Minister Manamela cited the Policy on Minimum Requirements for Programmes Leading to Qualifications in Higher Education for Early Childhood Development Educators, introduced in 2017, as a critical milestone. For the first time, South Africa’s post-school system articulated a full qualification pathway for ECD educators, from certificates and diplomas through to degrees and postgraduate qualifications, providing nationally agreed standards for teacher education, defining core competencies, and ensuring alignment with the Higher Education Qualifications Framework.

Minister Manamela left the Lekgotla with three clear takeaways: “Firstly, the DHET is responsive and deliberate in creating multiple post-school pathways, actively working to ensure that young people are not confronted with a single, narrow definition of success, but with a diverse, articulated system that includes universities, TVET colleges, Community Education and Training colleges, occupational qualifications, workplace learning and lifelong learning opportunities. Our task is not only to expand access, but to make these pathways visible, credible, and connected”.

“Secondly, we are strengthening curriculum development and academic capability through the University Capacity Development Programme through sustained investment in curriculum renewal, staff development, and institutional collaboration. Universities continuously improve how teachers are prepared, knowledge produced, and pedagogy responds to changing social, economic, and technological realities to improve the quality of teaching across the system, particularly in the Foundation Phase”.

“Thirdly, we are committed to strengthening the teaching of STEM through closer, more intentional collaboration between the Departments of Higher Education and Training, Basic Education and Science, Technology and Innovation. Building strong foundations in mathematics, science and technology begins early, but it must be sustained through coherent curriculum design, teacher preparation, ongoing professional development, and alignment with national science and innovation priorities”.

In concluding, Minister Manamela said that these three commitments speak to a single objective: building an education system that is coherent, inclusive and future-ready; one that starts strong in the early years, supports learners through school, and opens meaningful opportunities beyond the classroom: “Together, across our departments and institutions, we have both the responsibility and the capacity to make this vision a reality”.