Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, has concluded his first set of annual virtual engagements with provincial and district officials and school principals. The engagements took place from 30 January to 14 February 2025. The DG hosts two sets of annual engagements with provinces and districts: the first phase of the engagements take place during the beginning of each academic year to implement programmes to improve learning outcomes across provinces. The second set of engagements take place during October to prepare for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations and to establish system readiness for the new academic year.
Learner achievement results were discussed and analysed against the backdrop of the three benchmark studies: the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SEACMEQ V), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2023) and the South African Systemic Evaluation (SASE) to illustrate how these studies impact on the General Education and Training (GET) Band. The National Assessments and Public Examinations Chief Directorate also presented a reflection on the results of the Class of 2024 to understand performance at the Further Education and Training (FET) Band using the inclusive basket of performance indicators. Each province was provided with an opportunity to deliver a presentation on their programmes and performance, whilst insightful presentations on education programmes were delivered by DBE officials.
Provincial Engagement with the KwaZulu-Natal Province
Mr Enoch Rabotapi, Acting DDG for Teacher Development, Human Resources and Institutional Development, chaired the meeting with the KwaZulu-Natal Province on 7 February 2025. Dr Barney Mthembu, DDG for Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring, congratulated the province on its excellent performance in the NSC examination and encouraged them to follow the Kaizen principle of continued improvement. KwaZulu-Natal Education HoD, Mr Nkosinathi Ngcobo, extend his gratitude to DG Mweli for his continuing support throughout 2024, and for the Learner Support Programme in particular. “As we commenced with the new academic year, financial challenges are being experienced within the province as a result of budget cuts; however, the province will remain resilient in finding solutions to these challenges to ensure that teaching and learning continues in the province, along with the laying of strong foundations, commencing at ECD level”.
KwaZulu-Natal had a pass rate of 89.5% marking an increase of 3.2% from 2023. The Umkhanyakude Education District is the third best performing district with 92.8%. The PED must be commended for their outstanding performance, which is 2.3% above the national average. The difference between Fee-Paying schools and the No-Fee paying schools in the province is also being narrowed as observed nationally from 8.7% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024. The PED must continue to promote the use of the Inclusive Basket of Criteria at all levels, so that it could become the primary reporting format. The PED is not performing well on two indicators, Mathematics performance and Mathematics participation. In the current year, 2,565 ECD practitioners have been capacitated on how to implement the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for birth to four-year-olds with a strong emphasis on Learning through Play (LtP). A total of 834 ECD centres have been visited to support the implementation of the NCF and to check compliance with the required norms and standards. Thirty ECD Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have been established, and these form the hub for discussions on the implementation of the NCF.
KwaZulu-Natal has a high percentage of learners at the Emerging and Evolving levels. Learner performance in primary schools remains a challenge. Intervention strategies for addressing learning barriers have been effective in some provinces, however their impact on the province has been limited. The province demonstrates strength in leadership and management. Class sizes are generally moderate and absenteeism levels are manageable. Curriculum provisioning and resource allocation are adequate, although textbook availability for learners requires improvement. Schools in the province maintain effective communication with parents but need to strengthen connections with local communities.
Provincial Engagement with the Western Cape Province
Chairperson, Mr Seliki Tlhabane, Chief Director for MST and Curriculum Enhancement Programmes, chaired the meeting on 12 February 2025. Western Cape HoD, Mr Brent Walters welcomed online delegates, especially the principals who remain committed to improving outcomes regarding the challenges of a shrinking budget. Schools have made a smooth transition into the new academic year considering the adjustments to the sector’s growing demands in the light of limited funding. “We as the province, know that the learner will become what we imagine the learner to be as the best version of themselves, so we need to imagine a system that we want to see, regardless of the financial limitations, to bring a sense of hope and confidence in the future,” he said.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is at 86.6%, an increase of 5% from 2023. Of the 62,863 learners who wrote the NSC examination in the province, 46,038 learners qualify for admission to either Bachelor or Diploma Studies at Higher Education Institutions, and this represents 73.2% of the provincial candidates. A total of 63.8% learners are Social Grant Beneficiaries with 49.4% being inactive beneficiaries. The increase in the number of Sign Language candidates from 129 to 175 is encouraging and needs to be maintained. The WCED is one of the three PEDs that have the lowest participation rate in Mathematics, but produce the best pass rates in Mathematics. A total of 344 (74.1%) of the 464 schools that wrote this examination in the WCED, scored above 80%, an increase of 74 schools from 2023. The six schools that scored below 60% must be the focus of the Provincial School Improvement Plan. No schools in the PED scored below 20%. Concern was also expressed about districts such as the Overberg, Eden, Central Karoo and the West Coast that have a low throughput rate, but achieve a high overall pass rate.
Although the province performs well, a significant number of learners remain at the Emerging and Evolving levels. A high number of learners in the province perform at the enhancing and extending levels compared to other provinces. The province maintains high standards in teaching quality and learning outcomes. Learner achievement is strong, with Gauteng and the Western Cape outperforming other provinces across all grades. But the WC had the highest drop in SEACMEQ at the Grade 6 level and TIMSS Grade 5 Science results are slightly below 400. Teacher availability and participation in teaching and learning are consistent. Curriculum provision and resource distribution are adequately maintained. The WCED shared their improvement plan for Numeracy and Literacy, including a special focus on reading and progress made in respect of preparing the system for MTbBE. The province is planning a Grade R Conference that will be taking place at the Cape Teaching and Learning Institute on 17 May 2025, under the theme: “Free to be me”.
Provincial Engagement with the Free State Province
The Free State engagement was chaired by Mr Salie Faker, Acting DDG for Teacher Development, Human Resources and Institutional Development, on 13 February 2025. In congratulating the province on their NSC achievement, he said that, “officials are making a habit of obtaining excellent results and advised them to, in the new academic year, improve on their results to ensure their rating as best performing province”.
Advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane, Free State Education HoD, welcomed, what he termed the “annual online pilgrimage, sharing best practice, as well as ideas on a myriad of educational topics. The celebrations are over, and we are setting our targets and directing our focus to improve our performance targets in 2025”.
A significant number of learners in the province perform at the Emerging and Evolving levels. The province struggles with basic functionality in respect of teacher availability and teaching and learning. Learner achievement remains low in the province. Despite challenges in communication, the province demonstrates strength in leadership and management. Although learning spaces and professional development are limited, the province maintains quality in teaching and learning. The Free State reports high levels of learner and teacher absenteeism, particularly in Quintile 1–3 schools. It is recommended that the province conducts an audit on absenteeism, as rates in the province exceed those of all other provinces. The province has overcrowded classrooms. The province faces challenges in SGB financial accountability and policy implementation.
Free State is the top performing province at 91.0%, increasing its pass rate from 89.0% in 2023. Mr Tsatsi Montso and his competent provincial team, delivered the provincial presentation. Fezile Dabi is the top performing district at 93.5%; it is commendable that no education district has performed under 80%. The Mathematics participation rate is at a low of 33.7% and must be a focus for improvement. Throughput rates are low at 55.3%, along with distinction rates at 3%. Of the 36,312 learners who wrote the NSC examination, 28,375 learners qualify for admission to Bachelor or Diploma Studies at Higher Education Institutions, representing 78.1% of the candidate population. A total of 80.4% of Free State learners were Social Grant beneficiaries, with 63.4% being inactive beneficiaries. A total of 318 (74.1%) of the 355 schools that wrote the examination, scored above 80%, an increase of 24 schools from 2023. The three schools that scored below the 60% mark, must be a focus of the Provincial School Improvement Plan.
The final provincial engagement took place with the Mpumalanga Province on 14 February 2025. In conclusion, it was agreed that the DBE and PEDs must continue to conduct a deeper analysis of performance data and extract more lessons that could serve to enhance the performance of the Class of 2025. There is a need to continue to share best practice to contribute towards significant improvement in schools, districts and provinces.