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Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the 9th Annual Basic Education Sector Lekgotla – an initiative of the Department of Basic Education – by highlighting some of the key advancements made within the sector with a special focus on developments achieved over the last decade.
The Basic Education Sector Lekgotla led by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga is taking place at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng on Thursday.
The DBE said the three-day event offered a unique opportunity for key actors in education to discuss strategies on basic education and attendees include MECs; Heads of Departments; representatives of teacher, parent and learner organisations; local and international academics; and experts from post-school education sectors.
Since its inception in 2016, the department said one of the priorities of the lekgotla is to deepen the understanding of “where we are coming from”, with a special focus on developments in the sector over the last decade, as well as the global and local challenges and opportunities associated with the 21st century context for a strengthened curriculum.
Focus areas include the strengthening of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and foundational learning; harnessing digital technologies more efficiently, including emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI); entrepreneurship; teacher development and support; and the modernisation of learner assessment.
Discussions will focus on practical ways in which the wide range of institutions and leaders in the sector can work together to take forward key proposals emerging from the Lekgotla, against the backdrop of the evolving architecture of policies and the direction provided by the National Development Plan (NDP).
The DBE said that in light of the African Union designating 2024 as “The Year of Education in Africa”, the theme, Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality and relevant learning in Africa; is expected to be unpacked in conjunction with the Lekgotla theme for a holistic continental and global approach to the Education Sector and South Africa’s unique challenges.
The AU has warned of the high proportion of children and young people in the official age range for the given level of education, who are not enrolled in pre-primary, primary, secondary or higher levels of education and the need to heighten efforts to address learning poverty which has been worsened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It has been estimated that Africa will need 17 million additional teachers in order to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030.
The expected outcomes of the Lekgotla include new insights into a complex sector, and also a written statement of key observations and proposals emerging from the Lekgotla under the theme: “Equipping learners with knowledge and skills for a changing world”.
During the session on Language and Foundations for Learning, the Global Education Monitoring Report is expected to present their ‘Spotlight on Basic Education Completion and Foundational Learning’ country report.
The initiative by UNESCO assesses and monitors progress in education worldwide, providing insights into global education trends, challenges, and opportunities and covers a wide range of topics related to education, including access, quality, equity, and policy.
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