2025/26 Budget Vote Speech

Focus: Foundational Learning and Branch S – System Planning, Monitoring and Support

Honourable House Chairperson,
Honourable Minister of Education Ms. Siviwe Gwarube,
Members of the Executive,

Members of the Portfolio Committee,
Honourable Members,
Colleagues and Stakeholders in the Basic Education Sector,
Distinguished Guests, and
Fellow South Africans,

Good afternoon!

House Chairperson, I wish to take this solemn moment and invite Honourable Members to join me in honouring the memory of the departed Former Deputy President of the Republic, Mr David Dabede Mabuza, a leader who stood resolute in his unwavering support for education as a cornerstone of national development.

We are not here to politicise the budget vote, but rather aim to outline the foundation upon which the Democratic-led government has advanced the transformation agenda to this date.

It is with great honour and humility that I stand before this august assembly in support of Budget Vote 16 tabled by the Minister of Basic Education Ms. Siviwe Gwarube. House Chairperson,
the Budget Vote we support today is not just about rands and cents, it is about investing in the value systems that sets up the social fabric and the soul of our nation. It is about ensuring that every child, regardless of their social standing or geographic location, has a fair and equal opportunity to interphase with the learning processes the country can offer.

As I proceed with this policy and budget statement, honourable House Chairperson,

It is worth noting that this year marks 31 years since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, as we celebrate this milestone, it would be remiss of me not to remind this House of the remarkable legacy of the Democratic-led government, which has for three decades worked tirelessly to dismantle the fragmented and racially exclusionary education system inherited from the previous regime.

The interventions and reforms we witness today, though not without challenges have been deliberate, people-centred, and grounded in the lived realities of the poor and working-class majority in the Republic of South Africa.

In a historic milestone, South Africa marks 70 years since the adoption of the Freedom Charter, a revolutionary document that not only laid the foundation for our democratic ideals but also fundamentally shaped the trajectory of our education system. Its enduring legacy continues to influence the South Africa we envisioned and a nation rooted in the principles of equality, access, and the right to learn, as envisaged in Kliptown in 1955.

“The doors of learning and culture shall be opened to all.”

Post the advent of democracy, the Democratic-led government has boldly confronted the legacy of apartheid’s inspired education policies. We have steadfastly replaced them with progressive, inclusive education frameworks aimed at restoring the dignity of all learners and improving access to quality basic education.

National School Nutrition Programme

House Chairperson,

• Our progressive and sustained provision of the National School Nutrition Programme within the sector today serves a total of 9 million learners daily with nutritious meals. Since 2009, the programme has positively impacted upon the ability of children to learn by combating malnutrition, reducing hunger and improving school attendance as a testament to our commitment towards this public discourse. In some schools, as the sector we have began pioneering with the provision of up to three meals a day with the intention to ameliorate the stubborn triple challenges.

National Learner Transport Policy

• In 2015, Cabinet approved the National Learner Transport Policy as a bold step in advancing the government’s pro-poor agenda to advance towards to access to educational facilities which would otherwise have been hard to reach and devoid of any aspiration or motivation. This is the learner transport programme, which supports learners residing a distance of 3 to 5 kilometres from the adjacent school, including those living with disabilities. To date, this inclusive initiative has benefited over 710,000 learners, affirming our commitment to removing barriers to education and promoting social justice.

Infrastructure Development in Schools

House Chairperson,

• Since 1994, this government has made significant strides in addressing the legacy of inherited inappropriate school infrastructure prioritising the eradication of mud schools and the replacement of pit latrines. Out of the 1,000 schools initially constructed with inappropriate materials, significant progress has been made over time. With the expansion of the infrastructure programme in 2011 through ASIDI, 510 schools were identified as inappropriate. We acknowledge the determined efforts and strides made by the sector; this number has since been reduced to 331 and counting. While the complete elimination of such challenges remains ongoing, the sector continues to make determined progress toward creating safe, dignified, and conducive learning environments for all learners and educators.

All the 331 schools constructed of inappropriate material have been replaced with brick and mortar structures.

Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM)

House Chairperson, since 2011, the sector has distributed millions of workbooks from Grade R to 9 to tackle poor literacy and numeracy. These are not mere booklets they are a response to deep-rooted inequality and poor learning outcomes. We furthermore, provided structured learning during COVID-19, proving their critical value in times of crisis. Workbooks in 11 official languages support early learning in Maths, Life Skills, and Languages. Opponents may argue it’s not enough however, without resources, curriculum support means nothing. Since 2011 to date, the Department has been able to develop national catalogues for Grades R – 12, where provinces, districts and schools’ source their textbooks. These catalogues are revised from time to time. In addition, provinces continue to procure stationery for their schools.

Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme

Strengthening ECD Development Rooted in Home Language, Building a Foundation for Long Life Learning.

House Chairperson,

• I must place on record before this august House that the introduction of Grade R into our education system began in 2001 without any dedicated fiscal resource allocation. The ECD programmes have remained outside the formal education system and without proper support or regulations.
• However, the progress made thus far reflects that we are on course towards our desired destination.
• The total allocated budget for Grade R in public schools has seen a significant increase, rising to R6.7 billion for the 2025/26 financial year affirming unwavering commitment to strengthening early childhood education in the country.
• We take pride in the Department’s decision to prioritise the registration and oversight of ECD centres through the Bana Pele (Children First) Mass Registration Drive as both urgent for and paramount to the development of a better and educated South Africa.
• I am pleased to report that registration has now been activated in all nine provinces, with thousands of sites already onboard. The target to register 10,000 ECD centres this year will not only improve quality and safety it will help us map real demand, track coverage, and plan better for universal access to Grade R.
• As Department of Basic Education we are playing a crucial role in guiding provinces through infrastructure planning for Grade R rollout.
• The government’s bold commitment to strengthening Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education, which occupied space rent free in the heart of the late former deputy president Mr. David Mabuza, which has a dedicated allocation of R57 million in this financial year. This reflects our unwavering commitment to preserving cultural heritage while advancing inclusive and effective education. House Chair, indeed, the doors of learning and culture as encapsulated in the Freedom Charter is at the centre stage and guides our endeavours in the provision of the public service delivery social contract.
• This investment will be strategically channelled into curriculum planning, resource development, and meticulous teacher deployment monitoring to ensure that every child receives quality foundational learning. Central to this vision is the national Post Provisioning Norms, which guarantees equitable and needs-based teacher allocation across schools, factoring in enrolment, subject demand, and local context.
• In this 2025/26 financial year, the Department will complete a long-overdue review of these norms, with a specific focus on:
• Ensuring adequate teacher supply for the Foundation Phase.
• Accounting for multi-grade and rural school realities; and

– Addressing inefficiencies in post distribution and ghost post risks.

• May I hasten Honourable house chairperson to acknowledge and highlight the work being done by the Department in: strengthening efforts to improve education infrastructure through the enhancement of the Education Facilities Management System (EFMS). This system helps provinces identify issues such as sanitation backlogs, overcrowding, and temporary structures. Additionally, the Department is working to ensure the Education Infrastructure Grant is effectively used for improved delivery.

• We cannot grow public confidence in our system without being honest about performance. The recent inclusion of real-time data, financial dashboards, and quarterly reporting tools in the national performance monitoring system allows us to inter alia;
• Track provincial grant spending and monitor classroom-to-learner ratios, flag delays in textbook delivery and follow up on infrastructure backlogs and insights available in real time for timely intervention.
• We must continue to invest in transparent and accessible information systems, so that oversight is not reactive; rather, proactive and preventative.

House Chairperson,

I wish to express profound gratitude to the Minister for her visionary leadership, Members of the Portfolio Committee for Basic Education, the Director-General and our tireless officials within the Department, to our provincial partners standing united in this national mission, and to our steadfast stakeholders whose unwavering commitment fuels our progress. Above all, I honour the true architects of our nation’s future the educators, parents of South Africa, whose resilience and determination embody the spirit of our collective journey toward a prosperous and equitable society.

I support the 2025/26 Basic Education Budget Vote.