Private Sector partnerships are increasingly assisting with intervention and support towards accelerating the Department of Basic Education's (DBE’s) efforts for improved foundational learning across the country.
Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, joined by the Eastern Cape MEC for Education, Mr Fundile Gade, unveiled the newly constructed world class Humansdorp Primary School in the Eastern Cape Province early this morning. The construction of the new school has been made possible through a partnership between the DBE and the Kouga Wind Farm Community Development Trust.
According to the DBE, the partnership will alleviate overcrowding to ensure that age-appropriate learners are placed in formal schooling from Grade R. According to the Basic Education Learner Admission Report, more than 696,862 learners have been admitted requiring Grade R schooling in 2027. Similarly, the Report revealed that appropriately 748,095 have been placed in Grade 1 to date.
During the unveiling of the new school, the representative of the Kouga Wind Farm Community Development Trust, Ms Masechaba Mabilu, said that “since its inception, the Trust has made progress in transforming the education landscape for the better, especially in rural parts of the Kouga Local Municipality. During the 2025/26 Financial Year, the Trust allocated R35 million for community projects within the municipality.
The new school features various facilities, including a school hall, world class school infrastructure which caters for 154 learners from Grade R to 6 and a sports field. Speaking during the briefing session with Trust Executive Members, MEC Gade said that the new school was an excellent example of what can be achieved when Government and the private sector worked together. “Let’s continue to collaborate to deliver multiple schools of this nature to our rural communities," said MEC Gade.
In her keynote address, Minister Gwarube said that “a school succeeds when parents, teachers, school leaders and the wider community work together in the best interests of learners. She further emphasised that the new school should be used to sustain foundational learning across the General Education and Training (GET) band: “As a sector, we will work hard to ensure that our teachers are well equipped to deliver education of the highest quality. When we support teachers, we strengthen the foundations on which our children's futures depend. And to the children who will learn here, I want you to ask questions, to be curious and to try new things. I want you to be kind to one another, to respect your teachers and to help make this a school where everyone feels welcome. Today, we celebrate a vision that has been turned into action. But the true impact of Humansdorp Primary School is still to come. We will see it in the Grade R learner who begins their school journey with confidence. In the child who discovers the joy of reading. In the learner who overcomes a difficult challenge because a teacher refused to give up on them. To the Trust, and everyone who contributed to the success of this project, thank you. You have helped create something that can serve this community for generations to come”.