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DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION

Samsung, DBE Announce top 20 schools selected to advance to the next level of 2026 solve for tomorrow competition

Encouraging Innovative Thinking & Problem Solving for Gen Z to Build Sustainable Solutions through STEM At an event that took place on 14 April 2026, Samsung in partnership with…

  • Samsung
7 min read
Culpable homicide: The Quantum was allegedly attempting to overtake four vehicles when it collided head-on with an oncoming truck. Twelve learners were killed. Photo: Timothy Bernard/Independent Newspapers
ACCOUNTABILITY

Deadly Vaal ride to school

No single institution carries end to end accountability for ensuring a child’s journey to school is safe, leading to lethal consequences

  • Hasina Kathrada
8 min read
Ayanda Dludla was the driver of the minibus that was involved an an accident and led to the death of 14 children.
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION

Driver in fatal Vanderbijlpark crash charged with murder

Twenty-two year-old Ayanda Dludla also faces three counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of driving without a valid professional permit and operating an unlicensed vehicle

  • Hasina Kathrada
2 min read
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube.
CABINET REPORT CARDS 2025

Siviwe Gwarube: Basic Education

SCORE: C Under Gwarube, the department has seen some real and visible gains this year: record matric pass rates, a renewed strategic focus on early childhood and foundational…

  • MG Reporter
1 min read
Children learn through play at the Little Red Dragon preschool, run by the Lebone Centre in Makhanda. Play helps children ‘read’ their world and tell their stories, a vital step in their literacy development. Photos: Debbie Smuts
CHILD MALNUTRITION

Preschoolers falling through the cracks

SA spends just 1.8% of its education budget on ECD: the damage shows

  • Cathy Gush
8 min read
Aced it: The winning Grahamstown Adventist Primary School team at the Phendulani Literary Quiz. Photo: Nozipho Maphalala
AFRICAN LANGUAGES

Give children high-quality books from Grades R-12: they will likely read them

Research shows that classroom libraries increase reading frequency by 70% compared with centralised libraries

  • Rod Amner
7 min read
DBSA

Dove, Department of Basic Education and DBSA Empower South African girls with #ChangeTheCompliment campaign for International Day of the Girl Child

Dove, the Department of Basic Education (DBE), and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) united to empower girls across South Africa, marking International Day of the…

  • Dove
4 min read
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
COMPANIES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMISSION

Service providers challenge Gauteng premier over missing tender records in R9bn school feeding scheme

In their letter to Panyaza Lesufi, service providers outline serious irregularities in the National School Nutrition Programme tender process

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
The increase in learners is exacerbated by people relocating to Gauteng, and private-public partnerships are required to address overcrowding. File photo
BASIC EDUCATION

Gauteng needs 200 more schools, says education MEC Chiloane

During the 2023-24 financial year, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape only built one school each

  • Umamah Bakharia
3 min read
With youth month around the corner, education support networks have raised the alarm on the persistent underperformance and marginalisation of boys in the education system. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
BASIC EDUCATION

Calls grow to address marginalisation of boys in education system

In 2022, the out-of-school rate was 10.54% for boys, compared with 8.17% for girls

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
Basic education minister, Siviwe Gwarube. (Lefty Shivambu/Gallo)
BACKLOG OF INFRASTRUCTURE

Equal Education slams Gwarube over claim that 90% of schools now in a better condition

According to the department of basic education, 93% of 3 372 pit latrines have been replaced with appropriate sanitation facilities

  • Umamah Bakharia
4 min read
The South African Democratic Teachers Union alleges schools are pressuring learners in grade 10 and upwards to drop maths to protect overall matric pass rates
BASIL MANUEL

Unions slam basic education department over no maths at 464 schools

The South African Democratic Teachers Union alleges schools are pressuring learners in grade 10 and upwards to drop maths to protect overall matric pass rates

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
We owe it to our youth to provide them with the keys to opportunity. Let us walk this path together, turning our shared knowledge into action, and building a South Africa where every child can read for meaning.
ADULT LITERACY

South Africa has second highest rate of literate adults in Africa

But this starkly contrasts with the literacy problems faced by the younger population, particularly in the early primary grades

  • Umamah Bakharia
4 min read
An organisation says the devices reduce children’s ability to concentrate and learn effectively. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AI

Push for phone-free schools

An organisation says the devices reduce children’s ability to concentrate and learn effectively

  • Umamah Bakharia
4 min read
Service providers have taken the Gauteng education department to court to halt the appointment of 49 new contractors, claiming that some companies have been deregistered, while others are not tax-compliant or are even non-existent. (Photo by Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
COMPANIES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMISSION

Gauteng school nutrition tender faces legal battle over alleged corruption 

Service providers have taken the Gauteng education department to court to halt the appointment of 49 new contractors, claiming that some companies have been deregistered, while…

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
let us also focus on the teachers who stay up past midnight marking, who sacrifice weekends for extra lessons and who quietly absorb the stress so their learners don’t have to.
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION

Half of SA teachers want out because of violence, exhaustion

Fifty percent of the country’s teachers may leave the profession in 10 years, threatening education quality and rural staffing

  • Umamah Bakharia
4 min read
In the wake of a rise in reported cases of sexual violence in schools, including the allegedly rape of a seven-year-old girl, civil society and government leaders are calling for urgent and systemic reform of how schools protect pupils. (Getty)
BERGEVIEW COLLEGE

Civil society demands action on sexual violence in schools

The department of basic education said it would take additional steps to vet teachers against the national register for sex offenders

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
(John McCann/M&G)
ADMISSION POLICY

Doubts over successful implementation of mother-tongue school  instruction programme

The department of basic education has rolled out the programme for grade four learners in maths, science and technology

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
(John McCann/M&G)
FIXOURHOSTELSNOW

Gauteng education department taken to court over special needs learners

Pupils at Filadelfia Secondary School have reported neglect and sexual harassment, but the provincial department has failed to intervene

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
The Western Cape education department says it has filled 477 teacher posts despite announcing last year that 2 407 contract teachers would not be reappointed as a result of severe budget cuts.(Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Thuli Dlamini)
ADMISSION

Western Cape fills 477 teacher posts after cutting 2 407 contract positions last year

The department says the reduction in teaching posts has increased the projected average teacher-to-learner ratio from 1:34.2 in 2024 to 1:36.7 this year

  • Umamah Bakharia
3 min read