The Faculty of Education at the Nelson Mandela University in the Eastern Cape Province (NMU), hosted its annual Teacher Education Symposium on 8 October 2026, bringing together stakeholders across the education sector to reflect on the future of teacher education and how teachers can be better prepared for rapidly changing educational realities.
The 2026 symposium advanced discussions on how teacher education can be reconfigured in response to technological, educational and social changes. It provided a platform to strengthen the relationship between research, teacher preparation, educational leadership, school realities and professional practice, whilst creating opportunities for stakeholders across the education ecosystem to learn from one another.
Professor Deidre Geduld emphasised the importance of collaboration in strengthening teacher education and preparing student teachers for the realities of South Africa’s diverse classrooms: “We cannot prepare our students alone, we need the collective contribution of higher education institutions, the Department of Basic Education, schools, students, communities and parents. Collaboration allows us to draw on our individual strengths and address the complex challenges facing our education system collectively, rather than carrying the burden alone”. She underlined challenges such as trauma, barriers to learning, poverty, food insecurity and broader societal issues, noting that these realities affect both learners and student teachers. Prof Geduld also highlighted school-based and integrated learning initiatives at NMU, including vegetable gardens that provide Foundation Phase learners with opportunities to connect classroom learning with practical experiences in their homes and communities.
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Heloise Sathorar, described the symposium as an important platform for bringing together diverse stakeholders who collectively shape the education landscape. She highlighted the value of partnerships amongst partner schools, the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Faculties of Education across Eastern Cape universities, alumni, academics, teachers and students. Against the backdrop of complex and rapidly changing challenges in education, Prof Sathorar stressed that meaningful progress requires stakeholders to work together, engage critically with challenges affecting teaching and learning, and strengthen partnerships across institutions, sectors and communities.
The Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Reginah Mhaule, emphasised that the quality of education cannot be separated from the quality of teachers who work with learners every day. She described teachers as being at the heart of the education system and stressed that teacher education must remain a key national priority. Speaking on the future of teacher education, Dr Mhaule said the sector must prepare teachers not only for today’s classrooms, but for the classrooms of tomorrow. She noted that rapid technological change, artificial intelligence, changing labour-market demands and increasingly diverse classrooms require teacher education institutions to rethink how teachers are prepared for the future. She further called for stronger partnerships to create a more coherent teacher education and development system. “No single institution can transform teacher education alone,” she said, emphasising the need for collective leadership and sustained collaboration across the education sector.
Dr Mhaule concluded by calling for a teacher education system that is innovative, socially just, technologically enabled, professionally grounded and responsive to the needs of every South African child. She urged stakeholders to prepare teachers not merely to respond to change, but to lead it, ensuring that every learner encounters a teacher who is well prepared, well supported and committed to unlocking their potential.