Lebone Rodah Mosima

Deputy higher education minister Mimmy Gondwe has called for private higher education institutions to help expand access for school-leavers, as demand for post-school education and training continues to grow.

Gondwe made the call on Monday during the first of three engagements with private institutions at Empress Sandton in Johannesburg.

The meetings are aimed at strengthening relations with private providers and promoting collaboration to address urgent challenges in the Post-School Education and Training sector.

These include expanding access for all students, creating a business-friendly environment for private investment in education, and fostering innovation and responsiveness to labour market needs.

Gondwe said access within private higher institutions remained a growing challenge and should be expanded through partnerships with private higher education providers for students graduating from high school.

She said demand for higher education and training was increasing rapidly, and that engagement with private institutions could help improve tangible access.

“[T]oday’s discussion is trying to get a sense from our private higher in relation to the role that they can play, in helping us, encounter some of the challenges that we’re experiencing in the sector,” Gondwe said.

“I don’t want us to be in a situation where we have this conversation around the need to expand access every year without coming up with tangibles in relation to how to expand access.”

Gondwe said expanded access could also allow private higher education institutions to assist with funding to develop specialised universities.

She said this would require a long-term commitment from government.

“There is definitely an appetite for us to partner around building universities, which will ensure that we can expand access. We’ve got to make sure that there’s funding for those students to come into the higher education space,” she said.

Gondwe also raised concerns about the difficulties students face in securing placement in the labour market after graduation.

She said the department was working to ensure students were placed after completing their studies.

”We have left it to TVET students who are doing hospitality to find work-based learning placements, and I think that’s very unfair. So I spoke to them about how we can partner to better ensure that our students are placed.”

The engagements will conclude on Wednesday.

They form part of efforts to ensure private colleges are registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training and offer programmes accredited by recognised quality assurance bodies, including the South African Qualifications Authority, the Quality Council for Trades & Occupations, and the Council on Higher Education. INSIDE EDUCATION

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By Lebone Rodah Mosima

The 4 November local government elections are facing an early test of public confidence, with most unregistered young voters showing little intention of joining the voters’ roll ahead of the first national registration weekend later this month.

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA), through its Youth Commission, said it was mobilising young people to participate in the local elections amid growing concern over a widening voter participation gap and a trust deficit that has seen fewer people going to the polls in successive elections.

SALGA has encouraged young South Africans to use Youth Month as an opportunity to take action by registering to vote and preparing to shape the future of their municipalities.

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The national voter registration weekend will take place on 20 and 21 June 2026.

 “According to recent Public Opinion Research by the GCIS (government communications), South Africa approaches the 2026 local government elections amid ‘entrenched public pessimism and active democratic disengagement,’ as the public lose motivation for participating in voting,” SALGA said.

It said the study found that 62% of unregistered voters had no intention of registering, while only 38% of unregistered respondents said they were open to registration.

SALGA Youth Commission chairperson Lucky Sele said it was troubling that more than 60% of non-registered youth aged 18-34 did not plan to register, describing them as “millions of potential first-time or second-time voters absent from the rolls”.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has identified young people as a key audience in efforts to strengthen democratic participation.

It has said that more than 70% of young South Africans have not registered to vote, the result of growing distrust in democratic institutions and elections.

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However, the commission has said it aims to combat increasing political disengagement among young voters by integrating democratic education into the digital and cultural spaces in which they engage.

“The SALGA believes that local democracy will only be strengthened when young people choose to participate actively in shaping the councils, priorities, and decisions that affect their daily lives,” the association said.

Sele said that “young people cannot afford to be absent from decisions that affect jobs, service delivery, accountability, and the future of their communities”.

The SALGA Youth Commission said it would use June 2026 to launch a targeted youth mobilisation programme that includes public messaging, media engagement and youth dialogues on the role of young people in strengthening local democracy.

“Young people are urged to take advantage of the voter registration weekend on 20-21 June 2026, register where they live, verify their details, and prepare to use their democratic voice responsibly on 4 November 2026,” it said.

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Lynda Eagle

Play should sit naturally in early childhood education, as it reflects how young children come to know themselves, others and the world. 

Yet too often, play is the very space that requires the most protection. 

This tension usually arises from a culture that prioritises early academic achievement and holds the belief that accelerating formal learning guarantees future success.

When children are rushed or pressured into formalised academic outcomes too early, short-term gains may be visible for some, but the long-term cost can be significant, an education expert says.

Play is not separate from learning; it is the medium through which learning becomes possible.  

Early learning that prioritises performance over understanding risks weakening curiosity, motivation and wellbeing. 

ALSO READ: DA takes child pregnancy crisis to SAHRC over failures to prosecute statutory rape

Strong foundations are built not through acceleration, but through experiences that nurture thinking, communication, collaboration, and joy – conditions that sustain lifelong learning.

Children engage with play in ways that reflect their own pace, interests, and needs.

It provides space for difference and diversity while offering opportunities for connection and shared experience. Importantly, play supports emotional regulation and prepares children for future learning by strengthening the foundations required for inquiry, reflection, and participation in real-world contexts.

Play and responsiveness are often described as abstract concepts, yet they require intentional commitment from both educators and families. 

Responsiveness asks adults to understand the value of play and to reflect on their role within it: how they observe, when they intervene, how they extend thinking, and how they remain present without directing or interfering. 

By engaging in careful observation and thoughtful support, adults come to know children more deeply, including learning about their interests, strengths, and emerging identities.

It also plays a big role in building key life skills – things like thinking deeply or critically, solving problems, working with others, communicating effectively, and self-management. When children play, they’re constantly exploring new ideas, testing their theories, inventing solutions, and figuring out how the world works. Along the way, they learn to take manageable risks and handle challenges. And, very importantly, to stick with things even when they’re difficult, which gradually builds their confidence and a real mindset for growth.

Partnerships between families and educators are central to this work. 

Together, they can create learning experiences that balance freedom and structure, offering both flexibility and clear boundaries. This balance provides children with emotional safety while teaching respect for themselves, for others, and for the environment. Such stability supports the development of empathy, resilience, and perseverance.

ALSO READ: More than 1.1 million learners report school violence, Stats SA says

Within these conditions, children form relationships, make connections, and gradually become independent learners. They develop conceptual understanding and learn to reason, transfer knowledge, and apply ideas in new contexts, moving from concrete experience toward more abstract thinking.

Any tension between our aspirations for children and our understanding of play and responsiveness deserves careful reflection. 

When adults deepen their understanding of why play matters and how responsiveness supports learning, they are better positioned to guide children with intention and trust. 

Ultimately, early learning is not only about what children know, but about how they think, how they relate to others, and how they come to see themselves in the world, a world full of possibility.

Lynda Eagle is  Advtech Schools Specialist: Early Years Phase.

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By Johnathan Paoli

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), accusing multiple government departments of failing to protect children from sexual abuse and statutory rape, after evidence presented to Parliament revealed significant gaps in reporting, investigation, and prosecution.

DA spokesperson on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Angel Khanyile in a statement on Sunday, said the party’s submission to the commission would include findings from a nationwide investigation conducted by the DA’s internal task team on gender-based violence, which examined how government departments respond to child pregnancies and suspected sexual abuse cases.

“The numbers simply do not add up, and Departments are working in silos, failing to comply with statutory reporting requirements, indicating a catastrophic failure in data management and sharing. Our children deserve to be protected, and at the very least, the systems in place to protect children should work,” Khanyile said.

The complaint follows recent presentations to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, where police and government officials disclosed that thousands of statutory rape cases have either been withdrawn or failed to result in prosecutions, despite high numbers of child pregnancies and births recorded across the country.

According to the DA, information obtained from various departments revealed major discrepancies between the number of child pregnancies and births recorded by health authorities and the number of cases reported to law enforcement agencies.

The party highlighted data from the Department of Health showing that 122,302 adolescents gave birth during the 2023/24 financial year, including 2,716 girls aged between 10 and 14 years old.

By contrast, SAPS reported only 610 statutory rape cases during the same period.

Police statistics showed that nearly 40% of victims were 15 years old, while almost a third were 14 years old and more than 20% were 13 years old.

The DA further pointed to police data indicating that only 129 child births, 138 child pregnancies and 27 miscarriages or terminations involving children were reported for criminal investigation during 2023/24.

“What the DA uncovered should shock every South African. We believe that the fundamental constitutional rights of a child to dignity and to be protected from abuse are being violated by flawed systems that are working in silos,” Khanyile said.

The issue came under intense scrutiny during the meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police last week, where members expressed alarm at the number of statutory rape cases that have been withdrawn over the past five years.

Police told MPs that 1,853 of the 3,232 statutory rape cases opened between the 2020/21 and 2024/25 financial years were withdrawn.

Portfolio Committee chairperson Ian Cameron described the figures as deeply concerning and called for stronger interventions to ensure offenders are prosecuted.

“SAPS must strengthen measures against adults who fail to report incidents of statutory rape and provide statistics on actions taken against those who neglect this legal obligation,” Cameron said.

Police officials attributed the withdrawal of cases to a range of social, economic and cultural factors, including financial dependence on perpetrators, fear of stigma, intimidation of victims and families, and the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms within communities.

Acting Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection Lieutenant-General Hilda Senthumule stressed that rape cases cannot legally be withdrawn by complainants because such offences are crimes against the state.

Committee members were particularly critical of failures by government institutions to report suspected statutory rape cases.

The DA’s complaint also cites provincial examples.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the Department of Social Development reportedly recorded no statutory rape reports to SAPS in 2024 despite receiving more than 2,000 related complaints.

In Mpumalanga, over 65,000 children aged between 10 and 19 gave birth in health facilities between 2020 and 2025, yet only a handful of cases were referred to social development authorities.

Khanyile said the party would ask the SAHRC to urgently investigate what it described as systemic failures across government departments, identify accountability measures and recommend reforms to better protect children.

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Inside Education Reporter

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme administrator, Professor Hlengani Mathebula, has welcomed the Labour Court ruling to reinstate Facilities Manager Alfred Abrahams, saying the agency will abide by the decision.

The administrator said in a statement released on Saturday that the ruling to reinstate Abrahams was critical and affirmed the role of whistleblowers in the fight against corruption.   

Abrahams was dismissed in May 2023 after he made protected disclosures related to a lease of a building in Cape Town that cost NSFAS R 2 million per month while the building stood empty or was too big for NSFAS requirements. 

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In his ruling, Judge R Lagrange found that “All the evidence points to the overwhelming cause of his dismissal being his disclosure of the information of various acts of wrongdoing on the part of NSFAS Management.” 

The administrator said this was progress in making protected disclosures regarding procurement irregularities, acted in the public interest, and was in accordance with the principles of good governance. 

“This judgment is an important affirmation of the rights of whistleblowers and the critical role they play in upholding integrity and accountability within public institutions. As Administrator, I wish to state unequivocally that NSFAS fully supports whistleblowers and is committed to creating a safe environment where employees are empowered to raise legitimate concerns without fear of victimisation or retaliation,” the administrator said.  

Mathebula said the courage demonstrated by individuals who came forward to report wrongdoing was essential to fostering a culture of transparency, ethical conduct, and continuous improvement.

“Let me be clear: under my stewardship, NSFAS will be managed in strict adherence to the highest standards of corporate governance, with a firm commitment to collective accountability,” he said, before adding, “This means that every member of staff, regardless of rank, is expected to act in good faith and in the best interests of the organisation and the students we serve. We will continue to strengthen our policies and practices to  ensure that all procurement and other critical processes are conducted with fairness, transparency, and due diligence.”

Mathebula said the good corporate governance was not merely a compliance exercise but the foundation upon which public trust should be built.

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He said it requires rigorous internal controls, open channels for reporting concerns, and a clear, unwavering commitment to ethical behaviour at every level of the organisation. 

The administrator promised to intensify regular training on corporate governance, review and enhance NSFAS whistleblower protection mechanisms, and hold all employees accountable for upholding these standards.

“We recognise that employee accountability goes hand in hand with support and protection for those who act to safeguard the integrity of the organisation. Our approach will be holistic: we will not tolerate any  form of misconduct or procedural irregularity, nor will we allow whistleblowers to be silenced or  marginalised,” Mathebula said

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By Charmaine Ndlela

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has rejected allegations of racial profiling in learner admissions, describing claims raised during a parliamentary committee meeting as “false and misleading”.

The response follows a meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, which raised concerns over the WCED’s failure to provide requested information on learner admissions and placement practices in the province.

The committee met national and provincial education officials on Wednesday as part of a follow-up engagement on allegations of racial profiling in school admissions, particularly in the Western Cape.

Members also referred to a Western Cape High Court ruling that found aspects of the province’s admissions policies discriminatory toward historically disadvantaged communities.

In a statement issued to Inside Education, the WCED disputed the committee’s characterisation of the matter and defended its handling of learner placements.

The committee said concerns about admissions and placement practices had been raised by parents and civil society organisations. It further noted that the High Court, in a judgment delivered last year, found that the province’s late-application admissions policy indirectly discriminated against Black, poor and rural learners.

Committee chairperson Joy Maimela said members had expected a comprehensive report detailing progress made in addressing concerns identified by the court.

“What we expected was a presentation that comprehensively covers what we have requested the department to do. What we have before us does not appear to do that,” Maimela said.

The committee also criticised Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier for submitting correspondence only a day before the meeting, saying it undermined Parliament’s ability to prepare adequately.

“Somehow we are made to beg for information as Parliament, and that we will never accept,” Maimela said.

The committee has given the WCED seven days to submit the requested information and has referred the matter to Parliament’s House Chairperson for Committees and the Office of the Speaker.

Maynier, however, described the meeting as “a complete shambles” and accused the committee of creating a false impression that an investigation into racial profiling had taken place.

“The committee deliberately misled the public by creating the impression that there was an investigation into racial profiling. There was no such investigation, and the Department of Basic Education has clarified that it was in fact a monitoring and evaluation exercise,” he said.

Maynier said the exercise had been conducted in all nine provinces, but that the committee had focused only on findings relating to the Western Cape.

“We have not received a report with supporting evidence on the alleged findings. The findings are therefore untested and unverified,” he said.

He also argued that the High Court matter was separate from the committee’s discussions and remained suspended pending further legal processes.

“The court judgment was an entirely separate matter before the committee, which is suspended and sub judice. The committee conflated and confused the two matters. We did not indicate that the DBE presentation was sub judice,” Maynier said.

The WCED said the Department of Basic Education had been expected to present findings from an oversight and monitoring exercise, rather than an investigation conducted by the committee.

According to the department, the DBE was not allowed to deliver its presentation and the WCED was not given an opportunity to respond to the findings.

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By Lebone Rodah Mosima

The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and the SADTU Students’ Chapter have called on the South African Council for Educators (SACE) to scrap “unfair fees imposed on unemployed educators”.

SACE currently charges educators a R200 registration fee and an annual levy of R180, or R15 a month. Educators must be registered with SACE before they can be appointed to a teaching post.

In a joint statement, the ANCYL and South African Democratic Teachers’ Union Students’ Chapter said forcing unemployed teachers to pay fees to remain registered with SACE was unfair and deepened exclusion.

“We condemn the coercive subscription fees imposed on unemployed educators, which stifle opportunity and perpetuate inequality,” they said.

“We demand that SACE immediately retract its decision to levy unfair fees on unemployed educators. It is time to hold institutions accountable to the very youth they are meant to serve.”

The organisations said they had met to chart a way forward in support of unemployed youth and other marginalised groups, against an economic system that “side lines” ordinary South Africans.

“This meeting issued a clarion call for a united front towards the upcoming local government elections, and the SADTU Students Chapter assured its support to the ANC Youth League in the broader fight against the exclusion of our masses from the economic benefits of this country,” they said.

“Both organisations agreed to work hand in hand to advance the National Democratic Revolution.”

Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey showed the country’s official unemployment rate increased to 32.7% in the first quarter of 2026, from 31.4% in the previous quarter.

Youth remain among the hardest hit, with Stats SA reporting that the unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 stood at 60.9% in the first quarter of 2026, while unemployment among those aged 25 to 34 was 40.6%.

Stats SA also reported that employment in the community and social services sector fell by 206,000 jobs quarter-on-quarter, the largest decline among all industries.

“We call on the Department of Employment and Labour and the Department of Basic Education to re-employ all teachers who were removed from temporary teaching programmes,” organisations said.

They also said they would campaign for the ANC ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

“We resolved to embark on a vigorous campaign to rally support for the ANC in the upcoming local government elections. This is a crucial moment for our democracy, and we call on all young people to rise and ensure that their voices are heard at the ballot box.”

The organisations also raised concerns about undocumented migration, saying government needed a firm but humane response to such.

“This issue poses serious security challenges, and we demand comprehensive measures that ensure the safety and stability of our nation while respecting human dignity,” they said.

They said they were ready to lead young people in a protest to the Union Buildings to demand urgent government action on youth unemployment.

“We will not stand by while our future is compromised. The youth of South Africa deserve better, and we will fight for immediate solutions.”

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