Minister Siviwe Gwarube: Basic Education Dept Budget Vote 2025/26, NCOP

Theme: Rooted in purpose, weathering the storm, growing towards the light

Honourable Chairperson of the NCOP,
Honourable Members and Special Delegates,
Cabinet colleagues and Deputy Ministers present,
MECs for Education,
Basic Education sector stakeholders,
And fellow South Africans — good afternoon.

The NCOP plays a vital role in strengthening the link between national policy and provincial delivery. Basic education is a concurrent function, and the success of our national priorities depends on effective implementation by provinces.
This House is uniquely positioned to help us ensure that provincial departments are supported, monitored and held accountable — not only in budgeting, but in service delivery to every learner across South Africa.

It is for this reason that the Department, Deputy Minister Mhaule and I welcome the opportunity of tabling the 2025/26 Budget Vote 16.

Honourable Members, our journey in education is much like the growth of one of South Africa’s powerful heritage symbols – the baobab tree.

Like the baobab tree, our education system must stand firm, rooted deeply in strong foundations and built to thrive. It must nurture, develop and protect our young people.
As the baobab endures the harshest climates, our education system must be resilient, storing up the resources to weather any storm and bloom with purpose.

Today, as I reflect on the strong foundations we have laid over the past year to ensure that our education system is rooted in purpose for the 13.5 million learners in our schools, I’m reminded of one of them — Sigcobile Matya, a bright Grade 10 learner who joins us in the gallery today. His future, like that of millions of others, depends on the quality of education we provide. It is a responsibility I carry with humility and unwavering purpose.

Almost a year ago, we stood before this House and committed to five key priorities:

• Expanding access to quality Early Childhood Development

• Strengthening literacy and numeracy, especially in the Foundation phase

• Advancing inclusive education

• Enhancing teacher training and school leadership development

• Improving the safety and quality of school environments

These are not abstract commitments. They must be supported by evidence, rooted in the values of our Constitution and grounded in policy, budget and delivery.
Over the past year, we have made encouraging progress laying the foundations for these priorities.
In September 2024, I undertook a national Listening and Learning Tour — meeting with provincial leaders and visiting over 50 schools to hear directly from principals, teachers, learners and parents. I have wrapped my arms around this sector.
From the 2018 SAFE Audit I announced in April that 96% of identified pit toilets have now been eradicated. I am happy to announce that this has now increased to 97%. But I will not rest until we achieve a 100%. This is about dignity and safety, especially for our most vulnerable learners.
In November 2024, I convened 100 private sector leaders through a Partnerships for Education initiative — a collaborative effort that is already bearing fruit. One such example is the donation of classrooms that we will be handing over on Mandela Day in Mpumalanga.
Ensuring that every child can read, write and count with meaning by the age of ten remains a core priority of this administration.

Without these foundational skills, learners struggle to progress in key subjects such as Mathematics, Science, and technical or vocational streams — limiting their chances of success in further education or meaningful work.

The introduction of subjects like Entrepreneurship, Coding and Robotics is important, but without literacy and numeracy, these opportunities remain out of reach for too many learners.

Improving foundational learning is therefore at the heart of our strategy to ensure that more learners progress through our system, exit with quality results and are better placed to study further, start and sustain successful businesses or enter the job market.

Informed by the latest results of international benchmarking studies and our own Systemic Evaluation, which revealed that 8 out of 10 children in South Africa cannot read for meaning by Grade 4, we announced in December last year that we are undertaking a strategic reorientation of our basic education system towards improving the quality of foundational learning.

Our strategy places strong emphasis on expanding access to quality ECD and strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy.

In February 2025, we hosted the Bana Pele Leadership Summit where stakeholders affirmed their commitment to the 2030 ECD Strategy.
We are also intensifying the Mass Registration Drive to bring more ECD programmes, particularly in underserved areas, under the care and oversight of the DBE and provinces.

We have set ourselves a bold target: to register ten thousand ECD centres in the current financial year.

Sizimisele ukuqinisekisa ukuba wonke umntana weli ufumana ithuba lwemfundo esegangathweni besebancinci.

Siyayazi ukuba xa abantwana befundiswa nokudlala kwiminyaka yabo apho bana 0–4; baye bagqhwese esikolweni kwiminyaka eye ilandele.

Another key step we have taken to expand access to quality ECD is to prioritise work on the Children’s Amendment Bill, which we plan to introduce into Parliament in the current financial year.
This Bill aims to create a more enabling regulatory framework for ECD to ensure greater inclusion of ECD sites in the oversight and support systems of government.

Our department has also laid the foundations required to support quality teaching and learning in our ECD centres in two ways:

• Developing learning and teaching support materials to assist ECD practitioners to effectively implement the National Curriculum Framework for children from birth to four years of age

• Developing a national Human Resource Development Strategy for ECD to guide the professionalisation of the sector, including training pathways, continuous professional development and qualification alignment for ECD practitioners

To support quality learning in the Foundation Phase, the DBE continues to roll out the Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education programme — training teachers in bilingual methods and providing quality support materials.

Abaphandi noochwepheshe bezemfundo kumhlaba wonke bayavumelana ukuba xa abantwana befundiswa ngolwimi lwabo lwasekhaya, bayakhawuleza bazifunde kwa kamsinya izifundo ekuye kuthiwe zinzima njenge ziBalo (Maths) ne Nzululwazi (Science).

Phofu kuwo onke amazwe afumileyo abantwana bafunda ngeelwimi zabo, nalapha eMzantsi Afrika sibona besenza kakuhle abo bafunda ngeeLwimi zasekhaya.

Phofu kuwo onke amazwe afumileyo abantwana bafunda ngeelwimi zabo, nalapha eMzantsi Afrika sibona besenza kakuhle abo bafunda ngeeLwimi zasekhaya.

The Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme has been aligned to prioritise Foundation Phase teaching, and teacher development efforts are guided by our focus on literacy and numeracy.
We have also begun reviewing Post Provisioning Norms to improve post distribution and help provinces manage budget pressures. In addition, the National Catalogue for Grades 1 to 3 is being updated to ensure learners receive high-quality, curriculum-aligned materials.

We anticipate this new National Catalogue being in place by 2026 for procurement for the 2027 school year.

Honourable Members, quality teaching is the greatest enabler of quality learning outcomes.

The DBE is therefore auditing all training and professional development offerings available to our educators to determine how these can best be augmented and aligned to support the teaching of literacy and numeracy, effective classroom management and the professional management of our schools.

To support the expansion of access to quality inclusive education, we have increased allocations for assistive devices, and strengthened coordination between schools, districts and health services.

Good progress has also been made in reviewing White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education.

This work will shape how the sector continues to build an adaptive education system that accommodates diverse learning needs.

Honourable Members, while this progress is significant, there is still much work to be done to ensure that our special schools and ordinary public schools are fully inclusive spaces for all learners.
Malungu eNCOP, siyayazi ukuba esikabiphi ekuqinisekiseni abantwana abakhubazekileyo bayilifumana ithuba lokufunda as is enshrined in our Constitution. Yiyo lonto sifuna ukunyusa isantya salomsebenzi.

We will continue to take positive steps to support our educators and schools to meet the education needs of our learners.

In line with our commitment to improving school safety and quality, we continue to assist provinces with infrastructure planning, development and maintenance, and are reviewing the Public School Infrastructure Regulations to strengthen oversight and enforcement.

This review, scheduled for completion this financial year, will include public and stakeholder input.

We have finalised and signed the new national School Safety Protocol with SAPS – a landmark step in bringing SAPS and the DBE into closer cooperation.
We have also initiated the development of disaster management guidelines to assist schools. This is especially important in light of the Mthatha natural disasters where sadly learners lost their lives and hundreds of schools were damaged.

We are reviewing the models used by provinces to implement the National School Nutrition Programme to improve efficiency, financial management and accountability in how this programme is implemented.

Furthermore, we have actively supported the sector in implementing the BELA Act, which came into effect on 24 December 2024.
This support has included:

• Training of provincial and district officials

• The development of interim guidelines

• The development of an extensive suite of draft regulations to further support implementation

The first two regulations, focused on admissions and capacity, will be published in the coming weeks for public comment, with further regulations to follow.

This reflects our commitment to a legal and policy framework that is responsive and fit for purpose.

These efforts signal a broader shift towards more responsive, accountable leadership, and a system grounded in purpose and growth.

Even as we strengthen the foundations of our basic education system, we cannot ignore the storm clouds gathering over the sector – many of them fiscal in nature.

The reality is that our sector is operating under significant financial strain, particularly at the provincial level where service delivery mostly occurs.
In the past year, we witnessed the real and harmful effects of decades of fiscal ill-discipline that prioritised bailing out failing SOE rather than investing in educating the future of this country. This has now led to:

• Unfilled posts due to compensation ceilings

• Persistent infrastructure backlogs

• Interruptions in nutrition, transport and safety programmes

• And, in some provinces, non-payment of school allocations

These are not just technical failures. They are threats to the right to education.

Following the recent meeting with the nine MECs, I instructed all provinces to submit credible financial recovery plans — to be reviewed in July — addressing vacant posts, delivery breakdowns, ghost employees, and compliance with funding norms.
MECs and Heads of Department must also provide written updates on immediate stabilisation actions, to be reviewed jointly with National Treasury.
Provinces have been directed to ring-fence spending on:

• Teaching and learning

• Infrastructure

• Learner support

In this climate, there is no space for vanity projects or unaccountable spending.

We will activate oversight tools provided under the National Education Policy Act. Where necessary, we will escalate underperformance through intergovernmental channels and this Parliament. Accountability is non-negotiable.

Honourable Members, in addition to the pressures I have outlined, our sector is in desperate need of additional funding to support the roll-out of compulsory Grade R, as required by the BELA Act.

The sector was not able to secure additional funding from the National Treasury for this important undertaking. This has meant that our provinces are having to fund this within their allocated budgets.

We will continue to work closely with the Minister of Finance and the National Treasury to ensure that additional funding can be secured to ensure that all children are able to access quality Grade R education.

As a sector, we also need to take an honest look at how we strengthen public trust in our public schooling system, taking account of the growth of independent schools and notable increases in home education registrations.

I am activating an advisory body, the National Education and Training Council, in the coming weeks to advise me on a range of matters that are relevant here.

This advisory body will:

• Review the resourcing model for public schools

• Explore ways to reduce administrative burdens on teachers

• Consider whether the progression and promotion requirements remain fit for purpose

This is what it means to weather the storm: not to be immobilised by constraint, but to respond with discipline, clarity, agility and purpose. The education of our children must be protected at every turn.

The 2025/26 Budget is, however, a reminder that we remain committed to growing this sector towards the light, with targeted investments designed to strengthen core programmes, close historical gaps and unlock the full potential of every learner.
This year, the DBE is allocated a total budget of over R35 billion, reflecting an increase of over 8% from the previous year.

These additional resources are concentrated where they will have the greatest impact, aligned with our five national priorities.

Investing in the early years will yield the greatest returns. The ECD Conditional Grant therefore increases to over R1.7 billion, supporting provincial planning, workforce development and quality assurance systems.

Over R230 million has been allocated for the ECD Nutrition Pilot, ensuring that learners in this critical phase receive daily meals — especially in rural and under-resourced areas.

R162 million is set aside for ECD infrastructure, focusing on the upgrading and formalisation of centres in underserved communities.

Our goal is clear: every child must enter Grade 1 ready to learn — cognitively, emotionally, and physically.

The strategic reorientation to the foundation of learning is at the heart of this administration’s education reform agenda. It is borne out of a commitment to ensure that every child can read for meaning and calculate with confidence by the age of ten.

The Curriculum Policy Support and Monitoring programme therefore receives over R4.6 billion, an increase of over 14% — enabling national oversight, teacher support and curriculum delivery.
The Workbook Programme is funded at over R1.2 billion, ensuring free provision of quality learning materials from Grade R through to Grade 9 — including Braille versions and adaptive materials.

While these workbooks support teaching and learning, they are not a substitute for quality teaching.

We are increasing efforts to support learners whose home language differs from the language they are taught in.
A further R57 million is allocated over the medium term for the Mother-Tongue Based Bilingual Education programme.

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

We are committed to building a system that recognises diversity and removes barriers to learning. Learners with diverse education needs must be part of our national education vision — not marginal to it.

The DBE will continue to support full-service schools and special schools through the Inclusive Education conditional grant.

Provincial spending is being closely monitored to ensure that:

are budgeted for and delivered.

District-based support teams are being reinforced to provide diagnostic and programme-level interventions.

No reform will succeed without empowered teachers. That is why this budget increases investment in both initial teacher education and ongoing professional development.
The Teacher Development and HR Management Programme receives over R1.8 billion. These funds will support content-specific in-service training, mentorship, and leadership development for school management teams.

The Funza Lushaka bursary scheme will support just over nine thousand students this financial year — focused on Maths, Science, and Foundation Phase education. Recruitment will prioritise candidates willing to teach in foundation phase, rural and high-need areas.

The teacher is the single most important in-school factor influencing learning outcomes. We must continue to professionalise and support this workforce.

Children cannot learn if they do not feel safe, if their schools are falling apart, or if they are hungry. This budget directly supports the conditions that make learning possible.

The Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) increases to R15.3 billion. This includes targeted top-ups to provinces with accelerated infrastructure rollout capabilities — notably, the Western Cape, whose infrastructure planning model is being examined for broader replication.

The EIG will prioritise:

• The elimination of pit toilets

• The construction of new classrooms in high-growth areas

• Repairs to storm-damaged and ageing infrastructure

The School Nutrition Programme is funded at R10 billion, feeding over 9 million learners every day. The DBE continues to work with provinces to ensure improved menu quality, timely delivery and community-based supply chain inclusion.

Through better project management and grant monitoring, we aim to ensure that every allocation strengthens teaching and learning outcomes.

This is a Budget grounded in our constitutional duty and in the belief that education is the most powerful lever for transformation.
Indeed, the system is like a baobab tree.

I thank the Deputy Minister, our officials, our public entities, provincial colleagues, educators, our various stakeholders and, most importantly, the learners of South Africa. Your resilience is truly remarkable.

I therefore call on all Members of this House to support this budget, not out of party affiliation, but in the name of the people we serve. This is a budget for the future of our country.

Ndiyabulela! Baie Dankie! Thank you!