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Diverting his energies to ensure that the trajectory of a “system on the rise” is upheld throughout the education system, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, the Director-General of Basic Education took to the provinces on the second round of provincial engagements in August 2017.

In his engagement with provinces, the Director-General clearly articulated his view that the purpose of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) conducting these engagements is to refocus the sector towards achieving the important goals set out in the Action Plan to 2019: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 20130. When asked about the impact of these engagements, Mr Mweli said with confidence that they “encourage the provincial officials to become even more accountable”. Provincial officials viewed the Director-General’s engagement as a “game-changer”, providing them a platform to share best practice and seek collective guidance on addressing challenges.

Being a “hands-on” leader, with a perceptive understanding of the mechanics of the system, Mr Mweli was able to provide provinces with clear, unambiguous guidance on the four key deliverables that align with the four quarters of the school calendar year; which frame the tasks for each quarter.

DG's Provincial Visits: 2nd Semester

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Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape

More than 100 senior provincial officials attended the Director-General’s Provincial engagement which was hosted at Sterling Institute in East London on 08 August 2017. The provincial engagement programme, was introduced to the education system, to strengthen the collaboration and support between the Department of Basic Education and the Provincial Departments of Education as the system works collectively towards the delivery of quality education in South Africa.

The engagement is also used to monitor the progress made by provinces in terms of improving effective curriculum coverage across parts of the country and to discuss the state of the examination readiness whilst exploring better mechanisms that can be considered for improving quality learning and teaching in schools. Read more...

On 14 August 2017, Basic Education Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, visited the Free State Province where more than 200 provincial officials from across various parts of the province convened for the Director-General’s engagement. The purpose of the visit was to determine the state of the provincial readiness for the 2017 National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examination whilst monitoring effectiveness of the implementation of the School Improvement Plans.Read more...

The Director-General continues his second round of provincial engagements across all nine provinces. More than 600 provincial education officials met with Basic Education Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli and a team of senior officials from the Department of Basic Education to review the progress that the province has made in delivering quality education in schools. The provincial engagement took place at Mokone Maruping, in Braamfischer on 28 August 2017.

The main focus of the visit was to determine the state of the provincial readiness for the 2017 Examination. Other key issues that were discussed included the support for progressed learners, the impact of school-based assessment, and tracking of learner performance and the implementation of the Criteria for an Inclusive Basket in reporting the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examination results. Read more...

The second provincial engagement by Mr HM Mweli, Director-General of the Department of Basic Education, in KwaZulu-Natal, a follow-up from the first engagement which took place in April this year, was held on 21 August 2017 at the KZN Provincial Public Service Training Academy.

While curriculum implementation issues are common across the provinces, the unique contexts in provinces call for customised interventions that differ from province to province, depending on the needs and the depth of support the interventions provide to learners and schools. The engagement with KwaZulu-Natal provided a lens through which the province’s readiness for the 2017 examinations was viewed. Read more...

Limpopo Education provincial officials believe that with the level of intervention being made in support of schools, the 2017 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results will be better this year. This was reported during the Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli’s provincial engagement visit, conducted at the Flora Park Comprehensive High School in Polokwane on 01 September 2017.Read more...

As the count-down to the final National Senior Certificate Examinations (NSC) begins, Basic Education Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli has undertaken his fifth provincial engagement to the Mpumalanga province to assess the strategies and mechanisms that are being implemented by the key education stakeholders in improving the output in education.

The Director–General, accompanied by various DBE senior officials was also interested to gauge the reports on the Province’s state of readiness for the upcoming NSC examinations. The engagement which drew approximately 150 provincial officials was hosted at Hoerskool Bergvlam, in Nelspruit on 29 August 2017. Read more...

Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, addressed the key education stakeholders in the Northern Cape Province on 31 August 2017. This meeting was organised as part of the Director-General’s oversight visit programme aimed at monitoring the state of readiness for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examination in various provinces whilst urging provincial officials to support schools in delivering quality education.

More than 80 education senior provincial officials, circuit managers, district directors, and curriculum planners from across parts of the Northern Cape, attended the engagement, to share best practices on several strategies and activities initiated for improving curriculum coverage in the province.Read more...

Basic Education Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, has officially concluded the second round of his provincial engagement programme in the North West Province on 05 September 2017 with more than 170 district and provincial officials in attendance. Since the start of the programme (early August 2017), officials had an opportunity to share plans and strategies required to attain goals set out in the Action Plan to 2019: Towards the realization of Schooling 2030.

The Director-General’s engagements with provinces have challenged officials to review their strategies and plans so that they strengthen functionality and ensure that we maintain the trajectory of the “system on the rise”. Read more...

On 25 August 2017, about 130 provincial officials attended the provincial engagement at the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI) in Kuils River, called by the Director-General (DG) of Basic Education. The facial expressions of provincial officials acknowledged the positive impact this kind of engagement has on motivating officials to do their best in the areas in which they work.

The engagement allows the education stakeholders to share their views on reports on progress and challenges in a very constructive way; reflecting on their shortcomings and outlining a plan of action designed for elevating performance of the education sector. Read more...

DG's Provincial Visits: 1st Semester

Eastern Cape
Free State
KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape

The provincial engagements in the Eastern Cape took place in three (3) venues, namely, Lusikisiki, Mthatha and Cofimvaba on 23-24 and 27 March 2017 respectively. The meetings were attended by 4011 participants and these included officials and principals.

As part of the ongoing provincial engagements, the Director-General (DG) of Basic Education, Mr HM Mweli, accompanied by a team met with provincial and district officials; and school principals from all districts over three meetings. As one of the provinces with the lowest pass rates in the 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC)examinations, the Eastern Cape officials indicated some of the challenges, mainly socio-economic which negatively affect the process of teaching and learning.Read more...

The provincial engagements in the Free State took place at two venues, namely Bloemfontein and Kroonstad on 13 and 14 February 2017 respectively. The meetings were attended by 207 officials and 1 304 principals from Thabo Mofutsanyana, Motheo, Xhariep, Lejweleputswa and Fezile Dabi districts.

The Superintendent-General of the Free State Department of Education, Advocate Tsoarelo Malokoane, expressed his genuine gratitude to the Director-General and his team for visiting the province. Read more...

The provincial engagements in KwaZulu-Natal took place in four (4) venues, namely, Empangeni, Ladysmith, Durban and Ixopo on 20, 27 and 28 February 2017 and 01 March 2017 respectively. The meetings were attended by 6405 participants and these included officials and principals.

Basic Education Director-General (DG), Mr HM Mweli, undertook a four day oversight visit to the KwaZulu-Natal Province, to engage on critical educational matters with provincial and district officials; and principals from all districts in the province between 27 February and 01 March 2017.Read more...

The provincial engagements in Limpopo took place in five (5) venues, namely, Burgersfort, Lebowakgomo Civic Centre, Modimolle, Thohoyandou and Tzaneen on 2, 8, 13, 16 and 22 March 2017 respectively. The meetings were attended by 4821 participants in total and these included officials and principals.

In his opening remarks the Director-General (DG), Mr HM Mweli indicated that education remains one of the apex priorities of Government to achieve the goals of the National Development Plan (NDP); and that education stakeholders should collaborate in supporting all underperforming districts to improve their performance.Read more...

The provincial engagements in Mpumalanga took place in two (2) venues, namely, Middleburg and Nelspruit on 16 and 22 February 2017 respectively. The meetings were attended by 2060 participants and these included officials and principals.

“The Director-General’s provincial oversight visit has become an impact filled venture in our typical work as it encourages education stakeholders to focus more on the critical areas of deliverables, including the promotion of a reading culture in schools, improvement of literacy and numeracy and Mathematics participation and success rate,” said the Chief Director for the provincial District coordination unit, Mr Mfana Lushaba during the DG’s visit at John Mdluli Primary School in Nelspruit on 16 February 2017.Read more...

The provincial engagements in Northern Cape took place in two (2) venues, namely, Kimberly and Upington on 28-29 March 2017 respectively. The meetings were attended by 859 participants and these included officials and principals.

Basic Education Director-General (DG), Mr HM Mweli, convened two meetings in Kimberly and Upington to engage senior officials and school principals on issues relating to the implementation of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in all public schools.The Northern Cape Department of Education Superintendent-General, Mr Tshepo Pharasi highlighted that these meetings are very essential because they enable the education constituency to place emphasis on the non-negotiable priorities in order to contribute towards the implementation of the Action Plan to 2019: Towards the realization of Schooling 2030.Read more...