By Johnathan Paoli

The Gauteng education department is finalising the appointment of an independent investigative law firm to probe the death of a Grade 3 learner from Alberview Primary School in Alberton, Ekurhuleni.

Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane has expressed his condolences to the boy’s family, the Alberview school community and all who knew him, emphasising the need for an independent probe to uncover the truth.

“In our pursuit of ensuring the safety and well-being of our learners across all schools, we expect this investigation to provide detailed facts around this incident. We are hopeful that it will uncover the facts behind the learner’s passing, ensuring accountability,” Chiloane said.

The MEC stressed that the safety of children in schools was non-negotiable and that any negligence, if found, would be dealt with decisively.

According to preliminary reports, the learner was allegedly injured while playing with friends on the school field during break.

Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital by paramedics, he was declared dead.

Department spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed that an independent law firm would be mandated to investigate all circumstances surrounding the incident.

He explained that the investigation would go beyond internal departmental processes to ensure transparency and accountability.

“Once the law firm is onboard, the family and other stakeholders will be formally engaged for introductions and to outline the terms of reference,” he added.

The department’s psycho-social support unit has been deployed to the school to provide counselling and trauma support for learners, staff and affected families.

While no exact deadline has been announced, the department has indicated that findings will be shared with the family first before being made public.

It called for patience as the investigation process unfolds.

INSIDE POLITICS

By Jennifer L. Steele

For the past half-century, the jobs that have commanded the greatest earnings have increasingly concentrated on knowledge work, especially in science and technology.

Now with the spread of generative artificial intelligence, that may no longer be true. Employers are beginning to report their intent to replace certain white-collar jobs with AI. This raises questions over whether the economy will need as many creative and analytic workers, such as computer programmers, or support as many entry-level knowledge economy jobs.

This shift matters not just for workers but for K-12 teachers, who are accustomed to preparing students for white-collar work. Families, too, are concerned about the skills their children will need in an economy infused with generative AI.

As a professor of education policy who has studied AI’s effect on jobs and a former K-12 teacher, I think the answer for teachers and families lies in understanding what AI cannot – and perhaps will not – be able to do.

Prior waves of automation replaced routine and manual jobs, boosting the earnings advantage of cognitively demanding work. But generative AI is different. It excels at pattern-matching in ways that allow it to simulate human coding, writing, drawing and data analysis, leaving the lower rungs of these occupations vulnerable to automation.

On the other hand, because its output mimics patterns in existing data, generative AI has a harder time handling complicated reasoning tasks, much less complex problems whose answers depend on many unknowns. Moreover, it has no understanding of how humans think and feel.

This means that the “soft skills” – attributes that allow people to interact well with others and to be attuned their own emotional states – are likely to be ascendant. That’s because they are integral to solving complex problems and working with people. Though soft skills such as conscientiousness and agreeableness are considered to be personality traits, research suggests these are emotional tools that can be taught.

Teaching emotional awareness

The good news is that soft skills can be taught in tandem with traditional subjects such as math and reading – those areas for which teachers are held accountable – using techniques teachers already know.

For example, teachers often ask students to submit “exit tickets” as they depart the classroom at the end of a lesson. These are brief, written reflections or questions about the concepts students just learned.

Exit tickets can also be used to help students burnish their emotional and social skills along with their academic learning. In practice, teachers can give prompts that focus on moments of intellectual bravery, emotional regulation or interpersonal understanding, such as:

Write about a time when you helped someone today.

Tell me about someone who was kind to you today. How were they kind?

Describe a time this week when you learned something that seemed very hard. How did you do it?

The point of the task is not just to boost students’ mood or engagement, though these are great byproducts. The goal is to help students realize that their emotional responses to external circumstances fall within their control. Enhanced awareness of their own emotions predicts children’s ability to manage frustration, to perceive and anticipate the emotions of others and to work smoothly with other people. All of these are vital workplace skills that will likely become more valuable with the rise of generative AI.

Teaching problem-solving

Teachers can also have students practice solving messy problems whose answers are not known. For example, as elementary students learn to calculate perimeters, areas or volumes, they can work in groups to find the measurements of objects around the school, including large or oddly shaped items. Teachers can prompt students to reflect not just on the correctness of their answers but on how they framed and approached each problem.

Real-world problem-solving, also known as authentic assessment, can be taught in any discipline, with examples that include:

Testing the soil slopes and moisture levels on school grounds and proposing landscaping solutions.

Creating and pilot-testing video campaigns for social causes.

Reimagining how history might have played out if leaders had made different choices, and considering policy implications for today.

Teaching children to unpack complexity helps them understand the difference between seeking textbook answers versus testing possibilities when the best option is unknown. Solving novel, complex problems will continue to befuddle AI, not only because there are many steps and unknowns, but also because AI lacks our spatial and emotional understanding of the world. Even in the long term, countless variables that humans instinctively grasp will be difficult for computers to intuit.

Protecting slow learning

The technology complaint I hear most often from teachers is that students are having generative AI do their work for them. This happens not because students are deceptive or evil but because humans are self-regulating creatures. We take shortcuts on tasks that seem dull or too daunting in order to prioritize tasks that feel more rewarding.

But when students are building new skills, delegating work to AI is a huge mistake. By making slow things fast, AI undermines learning, because effort is needed to learn hard things.

For this reason, I think teachers must protect the classroom as a place where basic skills are learned slowly, alongside other students. For many lessons, this will mean harking back to the days before computers, in which students wrote assignments by hand or presented their work orally, learning to anticipate and respond to different viewpoints. If students are permitted to use digital automation tools, they should be prompted to reflect on how they used them, what they learned from them and which skills they weren’t able to practice – such as spelling, long division or bibliography formatting – when they delegated work to the tool.

The soft skill to rule them all

The truth is no one knows exactly what will happen to workers in an AI-enabled economy. People disagree about the skills AI will complement or replace. But the skills that underpin modern technology, such as math and reading, will likely continue to matter, as will the intra- and interpersonal skills that make us distinctly human.

Perhaps the most important skill schools can teach children today is the self-awareness to prioritize learning over shortcuts, and to refrain from delegating work to machines until they know how to do it themselves. It will also become even more important to be able to work with others in order to unpack hard problems.

An AI-enabled society will not be a society in which complex problems simply disappear. Even as the labor market reorders itself, I believe opportunities will abound for those who can work well with others to tackle the great challenges that lie ahead.

Jennifer L. Steele is a Professor of Education at American University.

The Conversation

By Thapelo Molefe

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has called for a deliberate and practical partnership between the government, universities and communities to transform the education system in the Free State.

She said global priorities must connect directly to local classrooms.

Speaking at the G20 Free State Indaba, Gwarube said South Africa’s presidency of the G20 in 2025 came with a commitment to take the G20 to the people, ensuring that policies shaped internationally reflected the realities of learners and teachers across the country.

“This is about ensuring that global debates on education are not abstract, but connected to the classrooms in Thaba Nchu, the early childhood centres in QwaQwa, the high schools of Bloemfontein and the rural schools stretching across the province,” she said.

Gwarube outlined key priorities aligned with G20 education goals, including improving foundational literacy and numeracy, strengthening teacher professional development in the face of technological and environmental change, and expanding early childhood development (ECD) access.

She stressed that while high-performing countries like Finland and Singapore offered lessons, South Africa needed its own approach rooted in local realities and aimed at transformation.

The minister proposed six key focus areas for the Free State, starting with aligning policies between the national department, the provincial education department and local universities to ensure a coordinated approach to teacher training and education priorities. 

She also called for the creation of professional learning communities that linked subject advisers with academics to share best practices and strengthen the bridge between theory and classroom reality. 

Addressing the challenge of teacher shortages, particularly in rural areas, Gwarube emphasised the need to match teacher supply with demand. 

She further highlighted the importance of strengthening teaching practice placements for student teachers to give them relevant exposure, as well as smoothing the transition from university to classrooms through aligned induction programmes. 

Lastly, she urged for joint monitoring, evaluation and research to inform evidence-based reforms tailored to the province’s specific needs.

“If we commit to these actions, we will align teacher education with national and provincial priorities, close the gaps between oversupply in some subjects and shortages in others, and treat teacher development as a lifelong journey,” Gwarube said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) teams in the Eastern Cape rushed to Gobizizwe Agricultural School in Ngqeleni on Wednesday after a suspected mass food poisoning incident left about 70 learners requiring urgent medical attention.

According to Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Siyanda Manana the alarm was raised earlier in the day when learners began showing symptoms consistent with food poisoning, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and dizziness.

“About 70 school children were taken to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Mthatha Regional Hospital and Ngangelizwe Community Health Centre. Those in serious condition were airlifted to hospital,” he said.

Manana confirmed that the learners were stabilised on-site, with several placed on intravenous drips before being transported to hospital.

The cause of the suspected food poisoning has not yet been confirmed.

The department has assured parents and the community that all affected learners were receiving treatment and that no fatalities were reported.

Officials have urged parents to remain calm while investigations continue.

The provincial education department is also involved in the probe, and counselling services are expected to be provided to the affected learners.

Authorities have indicated that an update will be issued once the investigation yields results.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has committed to decisive, phased interventions for the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system over the next four years, acknowledging persistent structural weaknesses.

Addressing reporters in Pretoria, Manamela outlined a plan to reform the system, saying the past 19 days of nationwide consultations with students, educators, unions, institutions and employers had revealed both deep frustration and high expectations for change.

“We will reimagine and reengineer our Post-School Education and Training system for a changing world. We will fix what is broken. We will strengthen what works. And we will build what is missing. We do this because South Africa deserves a system that delivers skills, knowledge and opportunity for all – and because our future depends on it.,” Manamela stated.

His vision is anchored on six objectives: creating a unified system, expanding equitable access, aligning skills with economic needs, improving quality, strengthening governance, and ensuring sustainability.

These objectives will be driven by five strategic pillars.

Economic renewal and jobs will ensure that graduates are employable and institutions align with growth sectors, while a green just transition will position skills development to support climate resilience and low-carbon innovation.

Public sector capacity must be increased to deliver services effectively, the country’s intellectual sovereignty will be strengthened through research and innovation, and no community must be left behind.

The minister detailed a three-phase timeline.

Within three months, the department wishes to stabilise the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and initiate a sustainable student funding model; establish the PSET Reengineering Task Team; and realign and tighten oversight of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

Additionally, the department is launching three flagship projects: “Skills to Work Transitions” connecting unemployed youth to training and jobs; “Career Choices” guiding learners from early school years into suitable career pathways; and “Literacy for Empowerment” targeting four million functionally illiterate adults.

Within 12 months, Manamela said the department would pilot autonomous college and new CET (Community Education and Training) models; launch TVET curriculum pilots in emerging industries; establish a national PSET database; roll out the National Senior Certificate for Adults as an alternative school-leaver pathway; and complete legislative reviews and accelerate campus infrastructure upgrades.

Within four years, the department plans on fully implementing the sustainable funding model, consolidating SETA and CET reform, driving system-wide digital learning, institutionalising lifelong learning pathways, and expanding research capacity and global partnerships.

Video by Kgalalelo Setlhare Mogapi.

Manamela stressed the need to rebalance the system, which he said was “heavy at university level and quite lean when it comes to TVET and community colleges”.

He announced plans to invest in short-term, work-oriented programmes such as automotive spray painting, bricklaying and energy transition skills, ensuring young South Africans were first in line for green economy jobs.

The minister acknowledged “fundamental challenges” at NSFAS, including governance instability, corruption allegations and delayed allowance payments.

While 800,000 students have received allowances, others remain unpaid due to administrative backlogs.

Manamela warned that without reform, the current funding model risked collapse.

“We must relook at the current student funding model, identify priority skills and mobilise resources from SETAs and the National Skills Fund,” he said.

NSFAS board leadership is reviewing vacancies, including the CEO position, with the aim of appointing competent candidates to stabilise operations.

Responding to questions about SETA board appointments, Manamela said nominations for chairpersons have closed and the department was assessing candidates’ skills and capacity.

Additional member nominations were reopened to accommodate applicants without master’s or PhD qualifications, especially from labour and community sectors.

On recent grade tampering allegations at the University of Cape Town, Manamela confirmed that the institution had requested the department to lead an investigation. He commended the university over its willingness to cooperate fully and commit to accountability.

Manamela emphasised that the government could not reform the sector alone, calling for a “broad national compact for skills and knowledge” involving students, staff, business, labour, civil society and communities.

This compact would be formalised at a Higher Education National Convention in 2026 to set the sector’s long-term direction.

The department will hold a detailed briefing in September on preparations for the 2026 academic year, including NSFAS reforms, institutional readiness and funding priorities.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has stressed the urgent need for a stronger, more deliberate partnership between her department and higher education institutions (HEIs).

Speaking during the G20 Education Seminar under the theme “From Dialogue to Implementation” at Unisa in Pretoria on Tuesday, Gwarube explored practical strategies for strengthening South Africa’s teacher education system while aligning with global G20 priorities.

“The Department of Basic Education invests heavily in curriculum innovation, teacher development and systemic reform. But for too long, our efforts have run alongside each other, not in full alignment. That must change. We need a shared stewardship of the education system, where the DBE and universities operate not in parallel, but in true partnership. Where accountability is reciprocal and leadership is collective,” Gwarube said.

She identified six strategic areas for collaboration between the department and HEIs. They include policy alignment and responsiveness, professional learning communities, teacher supply and demand planning, strengthening work-integrated learning, seamless induction and continuous professional development, and joint monitoring, evaluation and research.

The minister said the proposals could improve outcomes by aligning teacher preparation with systemic needs, bridging the gap between theory and practice, ensuring equitable teacher distribution and embedding continuous learning in teaching careers.

She underscored that the G20’s call for transformative leadership must be met with practical commitments rather than rhetoric.

“This conference must not be remembered for eloquent speeches, but for the partnerships it forges and the commitments it inspires. If we do this right, the ripple effects will be felt not just in Unisa’s lecture halls, but in every classroom in South Africa and far beyond,” Gwarube urged.

She stressed that foundational learning was a moral imperative and that teachers must be prepared to address challenges posed by artificial intelligence, climate change, migration and economic uncertainty.

Basic Education Deputy Minister Makgabo Reginah Mhaule reflected on South Africa’s historic role as 2025 G20 president and chair of the Education Working Group.

“It’s an honour and a strategic imperative to address you today, not simply as deputy minister, but as a teacher and an alumna of this university. In 2025, we will lead with clarity, courage and conviction, advancing three priorities: quality foundational learning, mutual recognition of qualifications and educational professional development for a changing world,” she said.

Mhaule said basic education must produce learners who met higher education’s expectations, warning against systemic misalignment.

Welcoming delegates, Unisa principal and Vice-Chancellor Puleng LenkaBula described the seminar as a platform for meaningful dialogue and collective responsibility.

“As South Africa prepares to host G20 activities, we are called to amplify the voice of the Global South. Investment in teacher development and early learning infrastructure is not only a national priority, but a global necessity. Empowerment is realised in classrooms, communities and the lives of learners and educators” she stated.

Gwarube praised Unisa’s leadership in teacher education, noting its reach across the continent and its pivotal role in producing educators across all phases from early childhood to postgraduate studies.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Soroush Sabbaghan

Scroll through social media and you’ll find numerous videos such as “How to Use AI to write your essay in 5 minutes” or “How to skip the readings with ChatGPT.”

The discourse surrounding AI in education is deafening and it’s almost entirely consumed by the question: How? How do we write the perfect prompt? How should educators integrate ChatGPT into academic work or detect its use?

This obsession with methods and mechanics is a dangerous distraction. By racing to master the “how,” we have skipped the two far more critical, foundational questions: why should we use these tools in the first place, and when is it appropriate to do so?

Answering the “how” is a technical challenge. Answering the “why” and “when” is a philosophical one. Until educators and educational leaders ground their approaches in a coherent philosophical and theoretical foundation for learning, integrating AI will be aimless, driven by novelty and efficiency rather than human development.

Two frameworks provide the essential lens we need to move beyond the hype and engage with AI responsibly: “virtue epistemology,” which argues that knowledge is not merely a collection of correct facts or a well-assembled product, but the outcome of practising intellectual virtues; and a care-based approach that prioritizes relationships.

Virtue over volume

The current “how-to” culture implicitly defines the goal of learning as the production of a polished output (like a comprehensive report or a functional piece of code). From this perspective, AI is a miracle of efficiency. But is the output the point of learning?

Virtue epistemology, as championed by philosophers like Linda Zagzebski, suggests the real goal of an assignment is not just writing the essay itself — but the cultivation of curiosity, intellectual perseverance, humility and critical thinking that the process is meant to instil.

This reframes the “why” of using AI. From this perspective, the only justification for integrating AI into a learning process should be to support and sustain intellectual labour.

If a student uses AI to brainstorm counterarguments for a debate, they are practising intellectual flexibility as part of that labour. If another student uses AI to map connections between theoretical frameworks for a research paper, they are deepening conceptual understanding through guided synthesis.

When AI undermines ‘why’

However, when the “how” of AI is used to bypass the very struggle that builds virtue (by exercising intellectual labour, including analysis, deliberation and judgment), it directly undermines the “why” of the assignment. A graduate student who generates a descriptive list of pertinent research about a topic without engaging with the sources skips the valuable process of synthesis and critical engagement.

This stands in direct contrast to philosopher and educator John Dewey’s view of learning as an active, experiential process.

For Dewey, learning happens through doing, questioning and grappling with complexity, not by acquiring information passively. Assignments that reward perfection and correctness over process and growth further incentivize the use of AI as a shortcut, reducing learning to prompting and receiving rather than engaging in the intellectual labour of constructing meaning.

Care over compliance

If the “why” is about supporting human intellectual labour and fostering intellectual virtue, the “when” is about the specific, contextual and human needs of the learner.

This is where an “ethics of care” becomes indispensable. As philosopher Nel Noddings proposed, a care-based approach prioritizes relationships and the needs of the individual over rigid, universal rules. It moves away from a one-size-fits-all policy and toward discretionary judgment.

The question: “When is it appropriate to use AI?” cannot be answered with a simple rubric. For a student with a learning disability or severe anxiety, using AI to help structure their initial thoughts might be a compassionate and enabling act, allowing them to engage with the intellectual labour of the task without being paralyzed by the mechanics of writing. In this context, the “when” is when the tool removes a barrier to deeper learning.

Conversely, for a student who needs to develop foundational writing skills, relying on that same tool for the same task would be irresponsible. Deciding the “when” requires educators to know their learner, understand the learning goal and act with compassion and wisdom. It is a relational act, not a technical one.

Educators must ensure that AI supports rather than displaces the development of core capabilities.

AI as mediator

This is also where we must confront historian and philosopher Michel Foucault’s challenge to the idea of the lone, autonomous author. Foucault argued that the concept of the author functions to make discourse controllable and to have a name that can be held accountable. Our obsession with policing students’ authorship — a “how” problem focused on originality and plagiarism — is rooted in this system of control.

It rests on the convenient fiction of the unmediated creator, ignoring that all creation is an act of synthesis, mediated by language, culture and the texts that came before. AI is simply a new, more powerful mediator that makes this truth impossible to ignore.

This perspective reframes an educator’s task away from policing a fragile notion of originality. The more crucial questions become when and why to use a mediator like AI. Does the tool enable deeper intellectual labour, or does it supplant the struggle that builds virtue? The focus shifts from controlling the student to intentionally shaping the learning experience.

Reorienting AI through values and virtue

The rush to adopt AI tools without a philosophical framework is already leading us toward a more surveilled, less trusting and pedagogically shallow future.

Some educational systems are investing money in AI detection software when what’s needed is investing in redesigning assessment.

Policy is emerging that requires students to declare their use of AI. But it’s essential to understand that disclosure isn’t the same as meaningful conversations about intellectual virtue.

Answering the questions of why and when to use AI requires us to be architects of learning. It demands that we engage with thinking about learning and what it means to produce knowledge through the works of people like Dewey, Noddings, Zagzebski and others as urgently as we do with the latest tech blogs.

For educators, the responsible integration of AI into our learning environments depends on our commitments to cultivating a culture that values intellectual labour and understands it as inseparable from the knowledge and culture it helps generate.

It is time to stop defaulting to “how” and instead lead the conversation about the values that define when and why AI fits within meaningful and effective learning.

Soroush Sabbaghan is an Associate Professor at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

The Conversation

By Johnathan Paoli

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande has urged the country’s universities to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

He warns that while South Africa is not lagging behind, it must move faster to ensure equitable access, ethical safeguards and full integration into teaching and research.

Nzimande outlined government’s vision for embedding AI in higher education and detailed a series of initiatives already underway.

“We’re not ahead of the curve, but we are not late either. From the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, our involvement in AI has been significant, especially in research. Our 2022–2032 Decadal Plan, called for by our 2019 White Paper, identifies digital skills development as a key priority for building a strong digital economy,” Nzimande said.

This follows the University of Cape Town’s recent moves to integrate AI into its academic programmes, which Nzimande said reflected broader progress in the sector.

The department has established the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research, which is a network of nine universities and 12 research centres that focuses on machine learning, language technologies and other core AI fields.

Nzimande noted in a Newzroom Afrika interview that these projects were being expanded to all 26 public universities.

Partnerships with IBM, the Association of University Vice-Chancellors and the Africa Institute for Mathematical Sciences are driving digital skills training across campuses.

Nzimande highlighted the need to bring every public university on board, adding that AI offered opportunities to strengthen African languages as mediums of science and academia.

On concerns about the potential misuse of AI, Nzimande highlighted South Africa’s participation in Unesco’s global programme on AI ethics.

He stressed that AI must serve “positive human uses and social justice” warning against its weaponisation, as seen in military conflicts.

He also praised cooperation with China through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and other platforms, which aims to build AI capacities in developing countries while addressing ethical considerations.

Nzimande acknowledged disparities between historically advantaged and disadvantaged universities, warning that without targeted intervention, the AI revolution could deepen educational inequality.

“We are supporting the vice-chancellors’ efforts to assess all universities and will introduce additional measures to help historically disadvantaged institutions build capacity in AI research and digital skills,” he said.

The department plans to adapt past initiatives such as the University Capacity Development Programme to target science and technology competencies.

Private sector collaborations with IBM, Huawei and others are being leveraged to ensure equitable access to AI tools, while South Africa’s G20 presidency is being used to push for global commitments that prevent poorer nations from being left behind.

Highlighting the breadth of AI-related work, Nzimande pointed to projects in data analytics and adaptive cognitive systems, cybersecurity research, speech and language technologies, and forensic identification systems using AI to assist in identifying unclaimed bodies in mortuaries by combining DNA testing with advanced data matching.

The department is also finalising a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, informed by the National Advisory Council on Innovation, to identify priority areas for AI development and application.

Nzimande recently attended the Belt and Road Ministers of Science and Technology Conference in China, where AI featured prominently on the agenda.

At the continental level, South Africa is contributing to the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2032, which prioritises AI among its focus areas.

“Artificial intelligence is no longer a peripheral issue, it’s central to economic development, social progress, and scientific advancement. We must ensure that as we build capacity in AI, we do so inclusively, ethically, and with the goal of using technology for human development,” Nzimande said.

With AI poised to reshape education, research and the economy, Nzimande urged South Africa’s higher education sector to act decisively to integrate AI, close existing gaps and prepare the next generation for a rapidly evolving digital world.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Mimmy Gondwe has called on women to persist in education, become leaders and break cycles of poverty.

She has further urged government, business and industry partners to provide practical support.

Gondwe led the department’s official Women’s Month event in partnership with the Fibre Processing & Manufacturing Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) at the Limpopo Community Education and Training (CET) College’s Mageme Community Learning Centre.

“Let us rise above inequality, gender-based violence, poverty and despair. Let us uplift one another as women, as Basadi and Bo Mme who believe in each other and a better tomorrow,” Gondwe said.

The outreach programme, held in Sekgakgapeng Village was aimed at showcasing the contributions of CET and SETA sectors in advancing the development of women, particularly those not in employment, education, or training.

The gathering drew students, educators, traditional leaders, municipal representatives and partners from business and industry, united in a common vision of women’s empowerment through skills development and lifelong learning.

Gondwe reflected on the dual purpose of Women’s Month, honouring the historic struggles of women while recommitting to building better futures for communities.

Marking 10 years since CET colleges were established, the deputy minister acknowledged the sector’s significant strides in providing accessible education and training, especially to rural communities.

However, she also highlighted persistent challenges, including infrastructure shortages, low enrolment rates and poor academic performance.

Despite these hurdles, Gondwe noted one undeniable strength in the CET sector, namely the “women or female factor”.

Women now account for over 70% of CET college enrolments, while female lecturers constitute nearly 80% of the teaching staff.

Drawing a powerful connection between the present and the past, Gondwe invoked the legacy of the 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest apartheid pass laws.

Addressing the women students in attendance, many of whom balance academic pursuits with roles as mothers, caregivers and breadwinners, Gondwe lauded them as “modern-day warriors” determined to rewrite their life stories.

The deputy minister reiterated the department’s commitment to transforming the Post-School Education and Training sector into an inclusive system that regarded CET colleges not merely as “second chance” institutions, but as vital centres for renewed opportunities.

She called for CET colleges to be adequately resourced, inclusive and responsive to the realities of women in rural and township communities.

Acknowledging the personal sacrifices many women make to further their education, Gondwe encouraged perseverance and underscored the importance of collaboration.

She called on partners from SETAs, Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges, industry, traditional leadership and other government entities to expand practical training opportunities, financial and nutrition support, and enterprise development.

Paying tribute to CET lecturers, Gondwe praised their dedication in sustaining learning centres despite limited resources.

The day’s programme also featured an address from the Mogalakwena executive mayor Ngoako Taueatsoala, who urged the community to work collectively towards building a more inclusive and robust economy.

Gondwe left attendees with a final call to action to rise above inequality, gender-based violence, poverty and despair.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has called for calm and urged political leaders to resist politicising the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act following criticism over the recently gazetted draft regulations.

Gwarube reportedly defended the process, emphasising that the regulations were not designed to rewrite the Act, but to ensure its smooth implementation.

“There are still leaders in the country who are hellbent on politicising this piece of legislation – a piece of legislation that’s going to help us bring coherence in the school system and our education system,” Gwarube said.

The department echoed the minister’s sentiment, strongly rejecting allegations that the regulations stemmed from any private political agreements.

Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga told Inside Education that the minister’s approach had consistently prioritised learners’ interests above all else.

“The minister has been consistent with her position that we should all participate in the BELA processes without losing focus on the interest of the children,” Mhlanga said.

The dispute arose after Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education chairperson Joy Maimela expressed concern that the regulations could dilute the intent of the BELA Act, which seeks to make Grade R compulsory and overhaul school admission and language policies.

Maimela argued that publishing only two sets of draft regulations instead of the full package weakened coherence and risked undermining Parliament’s goal of building a more inclusive education system.

She warned that clauses referring to the “surrounding community” and introducing “feeder zones” could revive exclusionary practices Parliament intended to dismantle.

However, criticism has not been limited to Parliament.

GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron accused Gwarube of using the regulations to “intentionally weaken” the BELA Act by reintroducing wording allegedly linked to a previous bilateral agreement with trade union Solidarity and lobby group AfriForum.

Herron warned that phrases such as “surrounding community, including language preference” could be used to defend historic exclusionary practices, particularly around Afrikaans-medium schools, undermining the Act’s intent to broaden access.

He said his party was prepared to challenge the regulations legally if they were not amended.

The BELA Act, which was signed into law last year, represents one of the most significant education reforms since 1994.

By making Grade R compulsory, it aims to strengthen early childhood education, while changes to admissions and language policies seek to reduce disparities that persist across the public school system.

Gwarube has repeatedly stated that the public comment process, open until 5 September, is central to ensuring the regulations reflect the nation’s diversity and constitutional commitments.

She urged parents, teachers, advocacy groups and learners to study the draft documents and submit their views.

Maimela, despite her criticisms, has also encouraged broad participation, pledging that the committee would exercise “robust” oversight to ensure the Act dismantles inequality rather than reinforces it.

For the department, the path forward is ensuring the debate is grounded in the needs of learners rather than in political rivalries.

With tensions high and stakeholders from across the political spectrum weighing in, the regulations are becoming a focal point for broader debates on transformation, equity and language in education.

As the deadline for public submissions approaches, the coming weeks will determine whether consensus can be built around regulations that balance the Act’s transformative goals with the practical realities of the school system.

INSIDE EDUCATION