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WATCH LIVE: Inside Education, EWSeta present skills development webinar

Honouring 50 years since the #SowetoUprising, the focus shifts to the present and future of South Africa’s youth. #EWSETA and #InsideEducation will explore how skills development can unlock meaningful opportunities and strengthen young people’s participation in the economy.

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Register to vote, show up and be heard, Moepya tells SA youth
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Register to vote, show up and be heard, Moepya tells SA youth

By Charmaine Ndlela

Electoral Commission chairperson Mosotho Moepya has called on learner leaders to become active participants in South Africa’s democracy, urging young people to register, vote and use their voices to shape the future of their communities.

Addressing delegates at the 2026 National Learner Leadership Summit in Benoni, Moepya said voting remained one of the most powerful tools available to young South Africans as the country prepares for the Local Government Elections on 4 November.

Speaking under the summit theme, Born of Resistance, Driven by Purpose: Leading the Future of Learning, Moepya reflected on the legacy of the 1976 Soweto Uprising and challenged today’s youth to honour that history through active citizenship.

“Fifty years ago, young people confronted an oppressive regime using the only tools they had left – their voices, their bodies and their resistance. Today, the battlefield has shifted, but the responsibility remains just as weighty,” he said.

He said voting was a constitutional right and civic responsibility.

“Our constitutional democracy is built on a simple, profound premise: the government must be based on the will of the people. If you choose not to vote, the government is not based on your will; it is based exclusively on the will of those who choose to show up,” he said.

Moepya encouraged learners to begin engaging with civic issues long before they become eligible to vote, urging them to debate, discuss and influence the future they want for themselves and their communities.

The summit was held under the theme ‘Born of Resistance, Driven by Purpose: Leading the Future of Learning‘. (Eddie Mtsweni)

He also highlighted concerns about declining political efficacy among young people, citing findings from the IEC’s 2026 Voter Participation Survey, conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council.

According to the survey, many young South Africans feel that their votes do not bring immediate structural changes. They point to high youth unemployment, service delivery backlogs and economic exclusion, asking: “Why should we bother?”

Moepya said that political disengagement weakens democracy and reduces accountability.

“The remedy to an underperforming democracy is never less democracy; it is more active citizenship. Voting is your structural mechanism for true accountability” he said.

While welcoming the high number of youth registrations recorded during the IEC’s June voter registration weekend, Moepya stressed that millions of eligible young people remained unregistered.

“The encouraging news is that the vast majority of new registrations came directly from the youth. However, our overall youth participation could benefit immensely from increased registration volumes,” he said.

He reminded delegates that young people aged 16 and older can register on the national voters’ roll, although they may only vote once they turn 18. Voter registration is open to South African citizens with a valid identity document, smart ID card or temporary identity certificate.

He urged young people not to wait for an official registration weekend, saying they could use the IEC’s online voter registration platform to register or update their details.

Addressing members of the Representative Councils of Learners, Moepya said the leadership experience they gain at school mirrors the principles required for democratic governance.

“You understand how to represent your peers, negotiate with school management, and advocate for better learning facilities. The jump from school governance to local, municipal governance is smaller than you think,” Moepya said.

“The practice of accountability, transparency and representation you are sharpening here are the exact competences required to transform our municipal councils.”

Moepya further challenged learner leaders to become ambassadors for information integrity, warning that misinformation and online hate can discourage civic participation and undermine democracy.

He challenged the learner leaders to leave the summit with three priorities, saying: “register to vote immediately when eligible, be ambassadors for information integrity, and mobilise your classroom and communities.”

He encouraged young people to make their voices count at the ballot box.

“If you move as a collective, you move the nation. Let us honour the legacy of the past by seizing the democratic power of the present. Exercise your right to vote. Register, show up on November 4, and let the true voice of South African youth be heard,” Moepya said.

The summit is scheduled to conclude on Friday after sessions focused on learner leadership, democratic participation, and social development.

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Letsie says foreign academic numbers raise red flags over transformation

By Thapelo Molefe

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has raised concerns about the employment of foreign academics at South African universities, saying some institutions have more foreign national professors than black, Indian and coloured professors combined.

The committee received a briefing from the Department of Higher Education and Training on the employment of foreign academics across the post-school education and training sector on Wednesday.

ALSO READ: Gwarube tells learner leaders to reject violence against migrants

Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said the committee’s interest in the matter predated recent investigations into allegedly fraudulent visas and was rooted in concerns about whether institutions were complying with South African laws governing employment and immigration.

“We support the policy framework on internationalisation, but ours was are we following, are we doing so, are we doing the internationalisation following the country’s laws, especially the Employment Services Act and the Immigration Act,” Letsie said.

He rejected suggestions that the committee’s scrutiny of the issue amounted to xenophobia, saying the focus was on compliance with the law and transformation in higher education.

Letsie said preliminary analysis of data submitted to the committee revealed that several universities had more foreign national professors than black, Indian and coloured professors combined.

According to Letsie, the institutions included the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of Pretoria, the University of the Free State and the University of Venda.

At UCT, he said, 39.7% of professors were white, 39.3% were foreign nationals and only 22% were black, Indian and coloured professors combined.

He questioned whether government investments aimed at developing South African academics were yielding sufficient results.

“Government 20 years ago introduced a fund to close the gap of blacks, Indians and coloured to be at that level. Are we saying government continues to waste funds on a scheme called National Research Foundation (NRF) if at least four institutions that I’ve told you about today, we still have more foreign national professors as compared to a combination,” he said.

ALSO READ: Technical outage delays report cards at some Gauteng schools

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela said the department agreed that institutions must comply with all applicable laws when employing foreign nationals.

“The Immigration Act makes it a criminal offence for an institution to employ a person without a valid work visa. The Employment Services Act requires that South Africans and permanent residents be prioritised, and that foreign nationals be appointed only where the skill is demonstrably unavailable at home,” Manamela said.

He added that the Employment Equity Act required that international recruitment should not be used to undermine transformation.

“Any institution that breaches these is not exercising academic freedom. It is breaking the law, and it will be treated accordingly,” he said.

Manamela cautioned against treating all foreign nationals as a single category, noting that many individuals counted in the figures were naturalised South African citizens or permanent residents.

“When we collapse the citizen or the permanent resident or the critical skills visa holder and the temporary contractor into a single suspect category, I don’t think we are clarifying a policy problem. We are actually feeding a politics that this House should be careful not to serve,” he said.

The minister also acknowledged shortcomings in the department’s data, saying some universities had struggled to reconcile staff records with visa and residency information.

He announced several measures to improve oversight, including reforms to the Higher Education Management Information System, a joint task team with the Department of Home Affairs and Universities South Africa to address visa-related challenges, and the appointment of a 19-member advisory panel to develop a standardised framework for international academic appointments.

Manamela said the long-term solution was to strengthen the pipeline of South African academics rather than restricting international recruitment.

“We have to produce more South African doctorates. There shouldn’t be any question about that,” he said.

The minister said the department had allocated 85 new generation academic posts, supported 92 emerging scholars and funded 47 doctoral candidates through university doctoral programmes as part of efforts to develop local academic talent.

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Gwarube tells learner leaders to reject violence against migrants

By Charmaine Ndlela

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has told learner leaders to reject hatred and division amid tensions over foreign nationals, saying the youth must have the courage to protect people from violence.

“In our country at the moment, we are facing unprecedented levels of violence towards undocumented immigrants. And in rejecting cynicism and rejecting some of the divisions, we need young people who are ready and have the courage to say, let us protect people at all costs. Let us not allow ourselves to be consumed by hate, by division,” she said.

“Let us commit to a different country that says, I may not share your background, but here you are safe, at least safe from violence, where you will not be treated less than human. Because that’s not who we are as a country.”

She was speaking at the 2026 National Representative Council of Learners (RCL) Leadership Summit in Benoni, Gauteng, on Wednesday.

Gwarube said learner leaders had a responsibility to help build safer and more inclusive schools and communities.

The three-day summit, held under the theme Born of Resilience, driven by purpose: leading the future of learning, brought together learner representatives from across the country to engage with policymakers, education officials and youth leaders on issues affecting young people.

Reflecting on the Legacy of 1976 and the Role of today’s youth, Gwarube said every generation faces its own challenges and has a responsibility to respond to them.

“Your generation faces levels of bullying in schools, faces violence in communities. You face the dangers of substance abuse, gangsterism and gender-based violence. You face the pressures of social media, cyberbullying and online hate, misinformation and division. These challenges may look significantly different from those faced by youth of 1976, but they are no less important,” Gwarube said.

She said these challenges require young people who are prepared to lead. Emphasising that representative council of learners is so important.

She stressed that the RCL position is not just a badge, or a title, but saving others.

The minister said learner leadership was not about status or popularity, but about serving others and standing up for vulnerable learners.

“The true test of leadership is not how many followers you have on TikTok. The true test of leadership is how you use your influence to improve the lives of others,” she said.

Gwarube expressed concern about bullying and violence in schools, describing them as serious issues that negatively affect learners’ wellbeing and academic success.

“Bullying is not harmless. Its not a joke, It destroys confidence, damages mental health and robs learners of their sense of belonging,” she said.

She urged RCL members to take practical steps when they return to their schools, including identifying learners who may be isolated, strengthening reporting mechanisms and working with teachers and school management teams to promote learner safety.

“Every learner deserves to walk through the school gates feeling safe, feeling valued, and every learner deserves dignity. As learner leaders, you have a unique responsibility in this regard because you often see what teachers cannot see, you know who is being neglected, and you know who is struggling in silence, so leadership means refusing to look away, it means speaking up when others remain silent,” Gwarube said.

She said the Department of Basic Education continues to prioritise school safety through partnerships with the South African Police Service and the implementation of the Safe Schools Protocol.

“We are strengthening school safety, improving collaboration with local police stations, tackling bullying, violence, gangsterism, and substance abuse. We are making sure that our schools are places of learning and hope.”

However, she stressed that policies alone cannot create safe learning environments.

“The safest schools are not those with fences and security guards. The safest schools are those where learners choose to care for one another,” she said.

Gwarube encouraged young people to reject corruption, violence, prejudice and discrimination, saying democracy requires every generation to actively protect and strengthen it.

Gwarube concluded by encouraging learner leaders to lead with courage, compassion and integrity, reminding them that South Africa’s future rests in the hands of its youth.

“The future of South Africa is not waiting somewhere in the distance, the future of South Africa is already here, it is sitting in this room and ready to lead and i have faith in each and every one of you that you are going to answer the call of leadership, of service, of building a better country because South Africa is certainly worth fighting for,” she said.

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Technical outage delays report cards at some Gauteng schools

By Levy Masiteng 

Some Gauteng schools will issue Term 2 report cards late after a technical failure disrupted access to SA-SAMS, the national school administration system used to capture and finalise learner records.

The disruption comes as schools prepare to close for the end of the second term on Friday, with learners expected to return on 21 July.

“On behalf of the Gauteng Department of Education, I extend my sincere apology to learners, parents and school staff affected by this delay. We understand the importance of report cards in tracking learner progress and planning for the academic term ahead,” said Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile.

He said system administrators and technicians were working to restore full functionality and normalise access.

Maile urged affected schools and parents to allow the technical process to be concluded so that report cards could be issued without compromising the integrity and accuracy of learner records.

“We are confident that the technical teams handling the matter will restore the system soon. We appreciate the patience shown by schools, learners and parents as this process is being resolved,” he said.

The provincial education department said it would continue to keep schools informed as progress is made.

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National Dialogue Youth Sector targets jobs, skills

Staff Reporter

The Youth Sector within the National Dialogue will launch pilot community action dialogues in six provinces as part of efforts to turn young people’s demands for economic inclusion into practical local plans.

The dialogues will be rolled out in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Limpopo and the Northern Cape, the Youth Sector said in a statement on Wednesday, as South Africa marked Youth Month and 50 years since the June 16, 1976 uprising.

Dates were not supplied for the dialogues.

“These pilot dialogues represent an important step towards building an inclusive and participatory National Dialogue process that is rooted in the lived realities of young people and communities,” the Youth Sector said.

“While the generation of 1976 fought against legislated exclusion and political oppression, today the struggle confronting young people has evolved into a battle against economic exclusion.”

The Youth Sector said the country’s young population should be a driver of development, but instead reflected “a painful contradiction” in which young people were “educated but unemployed, ambitious but unsupported, innovative but denied access to capital, markets and economic opportunities”.

The Youth Sector Engagement identified four priority areas: economic transformation, employment and entrepreneurship; policy, governance and youth participation; health and social development; and education and skills.

The sector called on government, business, labour, civil society, development partners and other stakeholders to move beyond speeches and commit to practical action on youth economic inclusion, entrepreneurship, skills development, job creation and access to finance.

It said young people remained underrepresented in decision-making despite South Africa having one of the youngest populations on the continent, and warned that policy commitments had to translate into “meaningful inclusion and economic outcomes”.

On education, the statement said too many young people were qualified but unemployed, and called for education, skills development and entrepreneurship support to be better aligned with economic opportunities.

“As we commemorate the legacy of June 16, we reaffirm that the struggle of this generation is for economic justice, dignity and opportunity,” the Youth Sector said.

“The spirit of 1976 demands that we move from dialogue to action, from promises to implementation, and from fragmentation to collective action.”

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Ramokgopa tells youth to tap into R2.2 trillion energy transition

By Lebone Rodah Mosima

Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has urged young South Africans to take their place in the country’s energy transition, saying new generation, transmission, electrification and critical-minerals value chains could create businesses, jobs and wider electricity access.

Ramokgopa was speaking at the Youth in Energy Conference and Awards, hosted in partnership with the African Youths in Energy Network at Focus Rooms in Modderfontein, Johannesburg.

The conference focused on connecting young talent with opportunities in the energy sector, including renewable energy, transmission infrastructure, electrification, nuclear, critical minerals and regional electricity markets.

“We need to achieve energy sovereignty in the country, so that we have to draw from various energy sources. There is a multiplicity of energy sources,” Ramokgopa said.

“There’s an opportunity for us to participate in what you call the nuclear fuel cycle, on mining, the enrichment, the fabrication, and so forth.”

Ramokgopa said young entrepreneurs should look for opportunities in renewable energy, particularly innovations that could help lower the cost of electricity and expand access to underserved communities.

He said funding would be critical to turning promising ideas into scalable projects that could be introduced into the market.

Through its funding houses, he said, such ideas must create opportunities for scalability to enable market introduction.

“One of the opportunities that we share with you is on the transmission side. You can generate this electricity using solar, using wind, but you must transport the electrons,” he said.

“They must get to a point where they are needed, where they are going to be consumed, and for that to happen, we need to build a transmission infrastructure.”

Ramokgopa said young people should see South Africa’s remaining electricity-access gaps not only as a crisis, but also as an opportunity to develop technologies and business models that can power rural and poor communities.

He said about 1.6 million households still lacked access to electricity, while millions more people across Africa remained without reliable power.

“I just shared with you that 600 million people on the continent don’t have access to electricity,” he said.

“It’s only us, South Africa, where we are at about 92% of penetration. Sub-Saharan Africa outside the Sahara desert, people don’t have access to electricity. In the region, outside, people don’t have access to electricity.”

Ramokgopa said new electricity demand, including demand linked to data centres, was creating further opportunities for young people to develop energy projects and participate in the wider electricity market.

He said South Africa’s energy plans envisaged about 105GW of new generation capacity by 2039, alongside a major expansion of the transmission network.

He outlined the scale of the investment opportunity, citing about 14,500km of new transmission lines worth R440 billion, and new generation capacity worth about R2.23 trillion, in the context of South Africa’s GDP of about R7.63 trillion.

“So what we are doing in the energy sector, in the next 12 years, constitutes 30% of the total size of the South African economy,” he said.

“This presents an opportunity that will be available for the next 12 to 18 years, and young people are urged to position themselves to participate in this space.”

Ramokgopa also said South Africa needed to do more to benefit from the critical minerals required for the global decarbonisation agenda.

He said the country should build local ownership and participation across the value chain, from production and beneficiation to technology applications, electricity generation and infrastructure maintenance.

“So you, as young people, must choose your place in the entire value chain. We must use our endowments to benefit and transform the lives of our people,” he said.

Ramokgopa said the opportunities were not limited to South Africa, as the department was also working on electricity corridors to support regional energy security.

He encouraged young entrepreneurs to develop scalable energy projects that could be expanded beyond South Africa and into the rest of the continent, saying the department was willing to support viable ideas and innovations through policy interventions.

“We are going to support you and ensure that we are able to succeed in this agenda. I say to the team that the best measure of our success is not that the lights are on,” he said.

“It’s how many jobs we create in keeping the lights on, how many new skills we develop and bring on board, and how many entrepreneurs participate in maintaining this infrastructure.”

Ramokgopa said young people’s participation would be vital to building an inclusive energy industry, even though the transition would not automatically end localised electricity interruptions such as load reduction.

He said electricity should be used as a tool to fight poverty, exclusion and ignorance, and to help children remain in school, learn productively and prepare for future participation in the economy.

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Women builders wanted for SA’s construction tech push

Staff Reporter

The Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) has called on women using digital technologies and sustainable materials in construction to enter its 2026 Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction Awards.

The cidb said on Tuesday that South Africa’s construction industry remained behind global leaders in the adoption of drones, artificial intelligence and other Construction 4.0 tools, with uptake still limited and uneven across the sector.

However, it said there was growing evidence of increased participation and influence by women in the industry, including in technical and leadership roles, contributing to efforts to accelerate digital transformation and close the technology gap.

The board said a recent University of Pretoria study, BIM Adoption and Implementation Trends in the South African AEC Industry, found that while 73% of industry participants were aware of these technologies, practical implementation was still being held back by cost barriers, skills gaps and resistance to change.

“As cidb, we know there are women who are adopting these technologies more and more in their businesses. Through recent engagements at events such as Big 5 Construct South Africa and our own roadshows, we’ve seen real enthusiasm across the industry to start implementing technologies that will improve how we build,” cidb CEO Bongani Dladla said.

Dladla said the cidb wanted this year’s awards to highlight women who were already adopting and implementing new technologies in the sector.

“We are calling on women who are pioneering the integration of digital technologies and sustainable construction materials into traditional building practices, to enter our Innovative Entity of the Year category.”

He said adopting new technology was not only about staying current, but could lead to safer construction sites, reduce costly rework, improve coordination across trades, and boost profitability and sustainability across the built environment.

The ERWIC Awards also include Interior Design and Build Project of the Year, which recognises women-owned projects demonstrating excellence in delivery and meeting client requirements, and Professional Team of the Year, which honours collaborative teams where women hold central leadership roles.

The awards also include Manufacturing Entity of the Year, which spotlights women leading in construction materials production and prefabrication, an area often overlooked in industry awards, as well as Mentoring Entity of the Year, which recognises organisations with effective mentoring programmes supporting women’s career development.

Other categories include Woman Mentor of the Year, honouring individuals dedicated to guiding the next generation of women in construction, and Transformation Entity of the Year, celebrating organisations making measurable progress on gender diversity and inclusion.

The Women with Disability Contractor of the Year category recognises a disabled woman or women-owned entity within the construction industry who is making a difference and contributing to the upliftment and support of other disabled women within the industry.

The cidb said it was particularly urging women to enter because they remained significantly underrepresented in the construction sector.

“The ERWIC Awards aim to encourage excellence among women and motivate women in construction by promoting visible role models, especially in lower-grade construction categories where representation is even more critical. Entry provides recognition of excellence, validates transformation efforts, creates industry visibility for groundbreaking work, and opens networking opportunities with industry leaders,” Dladla said.

Entries close on July 1, 2026 and can be submitted at www.erwicawards-cidb.co.za.

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Maile wants arrests over mismanaged school funds, as GDE tables R70.9bn budget
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Maile wants arrests over mismanaged school funds, as GDE tables R70.9bn budget

By Charmaine Ndlela

Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile will push for criminal action against officials implicated in school financial mismanagement, saying dismissals are not enough where public money has been stolen.

Presenting the Gauteng Department of Education’s R70.9 billion budget for the 2026/27 financial year at the provincial legislature on Tuesday, Maile said that the department had identified around 30 schools where financial mismanagement had been detected.

ALSO READ: Isuzu turns literacy project into long-term school support

“I don’t just want people to be fired, I want them to be arrested. Firing is not enough,” he said.

Maile said he intended engaging law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to ensure cases involving the theft of school funds were criminally investigated.

He cited one case involving a principal at a Katlehong school, who allegedly withdrew R400,000 from a school’s bank account.

“They just fired the principal. I said I want that principal arrested. We can’t have people stealing public money and simply walking away,” he said.

The warning came as Maile tabled a budget aimed at responding to overcrowding, learner support needs, school safety, infrastructure pressures and improving academic performance across the province.

The allocation represents a R2.9 billion increase from the previous financial year.

Maile said Gauteng continued to face significant challenges linked to rapid urbanisation, rising learner enrolment and overcrowding in schools.

The province currently serves more than 2.86 million learners across 3,320 schools.

According to the department, R54.6 billion of the total budget is allocated to employee compensation, with approximately R52 billion going towards educator salaries.

Addressing concerns over the shortage of social workers in schools, Maile said budget constraints made it impossible to place a social worker at every school in Gauteng.

ALSO READ: UCT remains Africa’s top university despite QS ranking drop

“There’s a lot of demands, but the resources are minimal. So it’s ideal that every school must have a social worker. We don’t have the money and the problem is that because sometimes we don’t explain, an impression is that the government has got a lot of money, the government must provide social workers, must provide, build everybody a house, unfortunately, that’s not the case,” he said.

“We are still able to provide psychosocial support through our districts, but it is not enough. We have more than 2,000 public schools. To place a social worker in every school would require resources we simply do not have,” he said.

Maile said the department continued to work with the Department of Social Development to provide support services to learners where possible.

To improve access to quality early learning, the department has allocated R994 million towards Early Childhood Development programmes.

A further R1.2 billion has been set aside for interventions aimed at improving learner performance in Mathematics, Science, Technology and literacy.

Infrastructure development will receive R2.7 billion, while R3.7 billion has been allocated to education modernisation initiatives, including school reorganisation and the expansion of specialised schools.

The MEC also reaffirmed the department’s commitment to supporting learners with special educational needs, saying dedicated funding had been allocated to programmes targeting vulnerable learners.

School safety and learner wellbeing remain key priorities, with R3.3 billion earmarked for learner wellness programmes, psychosocial support, anti-drug initiatives, school health services, sports, arts and cultural development.

In addition to the provincial allocation, the department will receive R3.9 billion in conditional grants to support infrastructure projects, school nutrition programmes, Early Childhood Development, Mathematics, Science and Technology initiatives, as well as services for learners with disabilities.

Maile also announced that the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation had been allocated R1.055 billion for the 2026/27 financial year.

The funding will support youth development, literacy programmes, talent identification and community participation in sport, arts and culture.

More than 400 schools will participate in the province’s Sport Wednesday programme, while sporting equipment and attire will be provided to 500 schools. The department said it would also support over 600 learners competing at provincial and national level.

Maile said the initiatives were aimed at identifying young talent while promoting discipline, social cohesion and educational development.

The province is also investing in literacy programmes, with R297.6 million allocated to library and archival services, including R194.8 million that will be transferred to municipalities to modernise community libraries.

An additional R5.1 million has been set aside for reading programmes across Gauteng communities as government seeks to improve literacy outcomes among young people.

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Construction of new autism school set to begin in Dinokana
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Construction of new autism school set to begin in Dinokana

By Levy Masiteng 

A new school for autistic learners is set to be built in Dinokana Village, Zeerust, in the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality, North West Education MEC Viola Motsumi has confirmed.

The department said the school will feature Early Childhood Development (ECD), Foundation Phase, Intermediate and Senior Phase classrooms, vocational workshops, a library, administration offices, a school hall, a kitchen and dining area, therapy and wellness facilities, hostel accommodation, and staff housing.

The announcement followed the official handover of the contractor for the project, which took place on Monday.

With the contractor now officially on site, the department said construction is expected to commence immediately.

“The Department’s Infrastructure Unit will monitor the project to ensure quality work, adherence to timelines, and compliance with universal design principles for learners with special needs,” said the department.

Motsumi said the project is a major step towards ensuring inclusive education for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

“Today we turn the sod on hope. Every child, regardless of ability, has the right to education that respects their dignity and unlocks their potential,” said Motsumi.

“For too long, families in Zeerust had to choose between no schooling or travelling far from home. The School of Autism in Dinokana changes that narrative. This is about inclusion, early intervention, and giving these learners the support they deserve to thrive.”

The proposed development will also include outdoor play areas for different learning phases, vocational training workshops, therapy rooms for healthcare professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers and educational psychologists, as well as dedicated parking, maintenance facilities and learner accommodation.

During the official handover, Motsumi was joined by traditional leaders from Dinokana Village, Ward 12 councillors, parents and school governing body representatives from special schools in the area.

According to the department, the initiative aims to improve access to specialised learning environments and support services for learners with disabilities, while ensuring they can receive quality education closer to their homes.

“To parents and caregivers: We see you. We hear you. This school is built for your children. Our educators and therapists will be trained to provide specialised support. No child must be left behind,” Motsumi said.

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