Basic Education Minister, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, Acting Director-General, Dr Granville Whittle and Senior Managers, this week, provided a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on the DBE response to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) House Resolutions in respect of the P20 Youth Parliament and P20 Women's Parliament Report of June 2025, reflecting on and tracking progress on implementation. The briefing was an extension of the Joint Portfolio Committee Meeting on the Statutory Rape of Young Girls, which was applicable during the 70th Anniversary commemoration of the Women’s March during the 2026 Women’s Month.
Minister Gwarube welcomed the attendance of the National Planning Commission (NPC) and the Financial and Fiscal Commission who provided their input in the form of presentations on the recommendations. “The work that you do feeds into the Department’s obligations, providing learners with opportunities for better lives and futures”. The 41 recommendations give expression to experiences and concerns of young South Africans were summarised in three areas: inclusive economic growth; industrialisation, employment, meaningful youth engagement; and Social Inclusion and Access to Education. The NPC’s presentation reminds us of the scale of the challenge, the unemployment rate of young citizens from 15 – 24 at 47%, whilst the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training remain deeply concerning. Despite high school attendance of school-going age, the completion of secondary education remains a challenge”.
The DBE’s responsibility is to ensure that learners acquire the foundational knowledge, the skills and competencies to enable them to progress through the education system and to ultimately attain productive and fulfilled lives. These concerns can only be addressed by the Education Sector alone, but require collaborative efforts by schools, families, communities and relevant government departments. The DBE will be taking the Committee through a range of interventions that are being implemented including learner pregnancy prevention and management; Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE); the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Framework (CSTL) and the Global Fund Adolescents and Youth programmes; and School-Based Support Teams (SBSTs).
The resolutions are anchored in the National Development Plan 2030, targeting persistent risks to learners in respect of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) and the policy framework; teenage pregnancy; and bullying and school safety, with a specific call for GBVF awareness to be integrated into the school curriculum and youth development programmes as part of the national prevention strategy. The DBE's Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) Framework is the operational anchor for the Department's response across all seven resolutions.
Mr Likho Bottoman, Director for Social Cohesion and Equity in Education, delivered the presentation on behalf of the Department. He reported that 33% of CSE lessons in the Life Orientation CAPS address GBVF-related topics, graded by age cohort. On Teacher Development, approximately 6,000 ECD practitioners and Grade R teachers are trained on the Siyalingana programme in 8 of the 9 provinces. On Learning and Teaching Support Materials, the "At the Crossroads" open-source Life Orientation textbooks and Scripted Lesson Plans strengthen CSE delivery. Co-curricular Programmes such as the Integrated School Health Programme; the National Schools Moot Court Programme; the Youth Citizens Action Programme; and the ABC Motsepe South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod (SASCE) build rights consciousness and safe youth platforms. The Department is combining efforts with Social Development, Health, Justice and the Police to ensure intervention programmes and care and support services reach affected children. Provincial training on the Bullying Prevention Manual for Schools have taken place. The Online Safety Integrated Programme tackles cyberbullying, grooming, sexting and trafficking, and supports school ICT policies. The Learner Code of Conduct for Schools sets clear sanctions for bullying, amongst other transgressions.
The DBE will continue the five-lever GBVF prevention approach and strengthen CSTL/SBST functionality across all provinces. As part of the DBE’s compliance commitments, quarterly reports on teenage pregnancy interventions by province, including affected-school statistics, on the efficacy and impact of GBV support and anti-bullying programmes will be made available. The DBE remains committed to safe, inclusive schools, free from teenage pregnancy, GBVF and bullying, for every child.