The DBE, along with the Departments of Higher Education and Training (DHET); Employment and Labour (DEL); and Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), briefed the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on 22 May 2026. The briefing called for enhanced intergovernmental collaboration and for improved education provisioning and service delivery.
A combined presentation, led by DBE’s Mr Enoch Rabotapi, Acting DDG for the Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development Branch, focused on the following priority areas: Early Childhood Education (ECD); Educator Provisioning, including Grade R; the Three Stream Model and support for the Senior Phase; Learner Transitioning and Exit Strategies for students and graduates; the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI); and improving the quality of life for learners with disabilities.
Committee Chairperson, Ms Joy Maimela said that the President has highlighted a skills mismatch as a contributing factor to the rising, alarming unemployment figures, along with a non-performing economy, and collaboration towards streamlining education is the only way these gaps can be addressed, along with ensuring that learners living with disabilities are included in a transitioning framework. This was a follow-up briefing to the 2025 briefing session to gauge progress.
DBE’s Dr Janeli Kotze, Director for ECD, explained that “our vision is for all South African children to access quality ECD as rapidly as possible to improve outcomes. We are tracking this through the Thrive by Five Index for an inclusive systemic approach and in accordance with the South Africa’s 2030 Strategy for Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programmes for the 42,420 ECD Centres, often run from home by women. The 2024 Index revealed that teaching strategies and not only qualifications are important quality indicators, and therefore the development of the Strategic Human Development Plan for ECD Practitioners and the Workforce Recognition Framework with a strong focus on skills development were required”.
Government has adopted a whole-of-government approach through the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on ECD, ensuring integrated delivery across early learning, health, nutrition, social protection, and child support systems, with the critical role of training and skills development being provided through PSET institutions (CET Colleges, TVET Colleges and Universities). Furthermore, Grade R is now part of formal schooling, which requires Grade R practitioners to be fully qualified as teachers. ECD priorities have been embedded in the Master Skills Plan (MSP) 2025-2030, directly supporting the implementation of the 2030 ECD Strategy and the IMC Joint Action Plan.
The collaboration between the DHET and DBE seeks to strengthen the provision, development and sustainability of teacher educators to improve the quality, relevance and responsiveness of teacher education across the system to ensure greater alignment between basic education requirements and priorities and teacher education programmes; professional development pathways and workforce planning, to address current and future needs for capable teacher educators. This will lead to coordinated policy development, research, capacity building and institutional support for teachers.
In respect of the Three Stream Model (TSM), a strategic collaborative arrangement between the DBE, DHET and DEL is in place, anchored on the EU-supported Education for Employability (E4E) programme, jointly implemented by the three partners and overseen by National Treasury to diversify South Africa’s schooling pathways (Academic, Vocational, Occupational) and to strengthen the link between education and the world of work. Mr Seliki Tlhabane, Chief Director for MST and Curriculum Enhancement Programmes said that although all SA schools are part of the TSM and they are of equal status, the bulk are still part of the academic stream. The TSM will therefore also prevent dropout as learners are presented with choices to match their interest and skill set to access economic participation.
To improve the lives of learners with disabilities, the DBE provides education-related assistive devices and technologies; ensures the inclusion of children with disabilities in basic education; and implementation of the responsibilities in terms of the matrix of responsibilities in the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Department of Health (DoH) provides health-related assistive devices and technologies; the DHET ensures the inclusion of learners within higher education; and the DWYPD provides oversight over implementation. In 2023, Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, established a multidisciplinary National Task Team (NTT) to facilitate the placement of out-of-school learners, comprising of the DBE, DoH, DWYPD, Social Development and Transport, issuing Circular 28 of 2023 to guide Provincial Education Departments on the placement of specific categories of out-of-school learners in schools. To date, a total of 1,235 learners with disabilities have been placed.
Ms Millicent Boaduo, from the Inclusive Education Directorate, indicated that there are 451 special schools across the country with 126,155 learners attending, but with few schools providing education to Grade 12 or offering the Technical Occupational Stream. “Working with the DEL, we are developing a policy for the transition of learners from school to a place of employment or sheltered employment”.
The intergovernmental approach will be successful in ensuring continued monitoring and commitment towards an integrated and coordinated approach.