National Advisory Council Set Up to Strengthen South Africa’s Basic Education System

“In the coming weeks I will be constituting an advisory body, the National Education and Training Council, to advise me on matters including school resourcing, teacher workloads and progression and promotion requirements.

“Whether the pass mark should be 30, 40 or 50% in which subjects must be subjected to a well-researched process of experts. We must be responsible with the curriculum of our children,” she said in Parliament.

Tabling the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) Budget Vote on Thursday, the Minister said the budget is a signal of continued commitment to targeted investments that close gaps and unlock every learner’s potential.

This as the DBE received a total budget of over R35bn – an increase of over 8% from last year.

With Early Childhood Development (ECD) being part of the department’s five key priorities, the ECD Conditional Grant increases to over R1.7bn; with over R230m allocated to an ECD Nutrition Pilot and R162m set aside for ECD infrastructure.

“Our goal is clear: every child must enter Grade R ready to learn in all respects. Our strategy centres on foundational learning – ensuring all children can read and calculate by age ten.”

Meanwhile, over R4.6bn has been allocated to Curriculum Policy Support and Monitoring – an increase of over 14% enabling national oversight, teacher support and curriculum delivery.

The department’s R1.2bn Workbook Programme will continue to provide quality learning materials from Grades R to 9 — including Braille and adaptive formats.

“While workbooks support teaching and learning, they are not substitutes for quality teaching. R57m over the medium term will support learners who are not being taught in their mother-tongue through the rollout of mother-tongued based bilingual education.

“Our message is simple: reading is non-negotiable, and the Foundation Phase is where the battle for equity and excellence must be won.”

Additionally, the department is building an inclusive system that removes barriers to learning for learners with diverse education needs.

It will continue to:

• support full-service and special schools through the Inclusive Education Conditional Grant;
• and monitoring provincial spending on assistive devices, transport and teacher aides.

Investing in teachers

At the same time, district teams are being strengthened to offer diagnostic support with the department investing over R1.8bn in teacher training, mentorship and leadership.

“The Funza Lushaka bursary scheme will fund over 9,000 students focused on priority subjects and Foundation Phase education. Recruitment will prioritise candidates willing to teach in rural and high-need areas.

“Teachers are the single most important in-school resource influencing learning outcomes. We must continue to support and professionalise them.”

Infrastructure and nutrition

On school infrastructure, R15.3bn Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) will be used by provinces to eliminate pit toilets, expand classrooms and repair schools.

“We’ve made progress on school infrastructure and safety, completing 97% of sanitation projects under the SAFE initiative (as of today), and supporting provinces to eradicate the remaining unsafe sanitation facilities,” said Gwarube.

She added that over nine million learners rely on the school nutrition programme.

“R10bn will feed over nine million learners daily while we’re improving menus, delivery and local sourcing. This budget reflects our constitutional duty and belief in education as the most powerful lever for transformation.

“We are reviewing the provincial school nutrition models to improve efficiency, financial management, and the impact of this programme. Every day, 9.7 million learners depend on this programme for a meal, and we cannot afford to fail them.”

Bela Act

The Minister said the DBE has actively supported the sector in implementing the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act, which came into effect on 24 December 2024.

The Bela Act amends sections of the South African Schools Act of 1996 (Sasa) and the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (EEA) to account for developments in the education landscape since the enactment of the original legislation.

“This includes training of provincial officials, interim guidelines and an extensive suite of draft regulations.“The first two regulations, focused on admissions and capacity, will be published in the coming weeks for public comment, with further regulations to follow,” she said.