By Edwin Naidu

Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane has not commented on the proposed Student Debt Relief Bill by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), published in the Government Gazette last week.

The EFF wants the country’s student debt estimated at R17 billion to be scrapped.

In a statement at the weekend, the EFF urged South Africans to unite behind its call to cancel student debt.

“This is a historic opportunity to change the lives of thousands of young people and generations to come. The promise of education must not be a privilege for the few but a right for all. Now is the time to act decisively and ensure that no student is left behind,” the EFF said in a statement.

On Monday, the Department of Higher Education and Training responded, saying it has no comment. The minister was currently focused on ensuring that all the needs of students were met, especially as the registration period drew to a close.

“The minister has been engaged and actively going on the ground to hear the challenges that students are facing and has brought task teams, including the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS),” said the department in a statement.

“… the minister is also committed to ensuring that no child is left behind. We also hope to use this registration period as a learning experience to do better in the following year,” the department said in response to an enquiry from Inside Education.

On Saturday, the EFF welcomed the gazetting of the intention to introduce the Student Debt Relief Bill, as published in Government Gazette No: 5129, on 28 February 2025.

In a statement, the EFF said this Bill, driven by the party’s Sihle Lonzi, wanted to address the country’s student debt crisis that has left over 300,000 young South Africans unable to graduate and receive their degrees, certificates and other qualifications despite having completed their studies.

Over the past two decades, student debt has grown and stands at around R17 billion.

In November last year, the party informed the Speaker of the National Assembly of its plan to introduce a Student Debt Cancellation Private Member’s Bill.

“We have consistently highlighted how student debt denies thousands of young people the opportunity to advance their personal and professional lives, despite having fulfilled all academic requirements.

“These students, who diligently pursued education with the hope of securing a better future for themselves and their families, are now left without the qualifications they worked hard to earn. Their exclusion from the workforce due to outstanding fees not only perpetuates inequality but also undermines the country’s economic potential,” the EFF said.

It has urged students, unemployed graduates, young professionals, lecturers, academics, vice-chancellors, churches, traditional leaders, civil society organisations, workers, intellectuals and policymakers to engage in the public consultation process.

“We encourage all interested parties to make submissions and participate in discussions to ensure that this Bill is comprehensive, just and financially sustainable,” it said.

Over the next 30 days, the EFF will embark on nationwide consultative meetings with all stakeholders who are committed to seeing this Bill become law.

According to DHET, Nkabane was also actively engaging different student associations, university management, Universities South Africa and various TVET structures to ensure that challenges around student debt challenges remained a focus.

“These conversations are ongoing, and the minister has done well in trying to ensure that she achieves this. The recent allocation of funds for allowances going up by 46% for TVET colleges is one example. The minister has also announced the new NSFAS board; she met with them last Friday and there are already plans on the way to change the shape of that organisation.”

The draft Bill intends to address the plight of students by establishing Student Debt Relief Fund. Any student may, based on a set criterion, can apply to the fund to pay off their debt so that they can graduate or get their qualification.

Furthermore, the draft Bill will make provision for all students who have met their academic requirements to receive their qualifications irrespective of their debt to the institution of higher learning.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The country’s rising stars in rowing came together over the weekend to compete in the South African Schools Rowing Championships, sponsored by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB).

Hosted at the Roodeplaat Dam outside Pretoria, the event featured over 1500 athletes, making it one of the largest school rowing regattas on the African continent.

The competition marked the culmination of months of rigorous training, with rowers pushing themselves to the limit to claim national titles.

Teams competed across various boat classes in a series of heats, semi-finals and finals, showcasing their speed, endurance and teamwork.

One of the standout performances came from Parktown Boys’ High School, whose Coxless 4 secured a top-eight finish in the A Final.

The crew, consisting of Humaid Timol, Xhanti Mandla, Kagisho Makotanyane and Thandolwethu Mogane, received immense support from their school community.

On the girls’ side, St Andrew’s School for Girls emerged as a dominant force, securing multiple accolades in the best U14 Girls, best U16 Girls, the national champions in the Junior Women’s U19 1st Quad and Doubles as well as being officially crowned the top girls’ school in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Grey High School’s rowers made their mark with strong performances, including a bronze medal finish in the U15 Double by Sam Offerman and Thomas Allen.

Gauteng environment MEC Shyla Peters attended the regatta, underscoring the importance of preserving Roodeplaat Dam’s natural beauty.

Addressing the athletes and spectators, she shared her personal connection to the venue.

“Roodeplaat holds childhood memories for many. Preserving its rich biodiversity ensures future generations can enjoy both nature and sport. Keeping it pristine means events like these will thrive for years to come,” Peters said.

Her message reinforced the intersection of environmental responsibility and sports development, urging all stakeholders to protect the natural heritage of this iconic rowing venue.

The significance of the event extended beyond school rivalries, with RMB sponsorship marketing lead Michael Edwards highlighting how the championships served as a launching pad for young rowers.

“SA Schools Rowing Champs is an annual showcase of the best young rowing talent in the country. It has served as a catalyst for many starting their journey towards the RMB National Squad and international competition. We’re incredibly proud of our partnership with this event,” Edwards said.

The championship ended with a spirited prize-giving ceremony, recognising the outstanding achievements of the young athletes.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Dr Blade Nzimande

As the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), we strongly believe that no nation can hope to achieve its development goals if it fails to invest in the development of its scientific capabilities.

I am proud to state that South Africa has one of the most advanced and largest public science systems in Africa.

Over the past three decades, we have made significant investments which greatly enhanced our capabilities in science and the prestige of our scientists.

For instance, we have expanded our system by creating new specialist entities such as the Technology Innovation Agency, the South African National Space Agency and the National Intellectual Property Office.

More recently, we made strategic policy shifts with the aim of making our public system science more responsive to our national priorities. In this respect, we adopted our White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation in 2019.

To drive targeted research and the development of technologies in key economic sectors such as energy, agriculture, mining, health and the circular and digital economies – with a strong focus on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence – we adopted a Decadal Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation for the period of 2022-2032.

As an outcome of our investments, our share of global research output (0,98%) has increased and is making a difference in areas such as health innovation (HIV/Aids) and the development of rural livelihoods.

Our investments have made it possible for us to win the bid to cohost big international science projects such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which once completed, will be the single biggest science infrastructure.

The DSTI has adopted a number of key priorities for the next five years that are in line with our new mantra of placing science, technology and innovation at the centre of government, education, industry and society.

They include increasing our focus on helping our country to develop credible pandemic preparedness capacity, more specifically local vaccine manufacturing capacity.

We will also continue to support the development of scarce and critical skills, through among others, the Presidential PhD Programme.

Education and science are both instruments for unlocking human potential and, therefore, education and science are both complementary and mutually reinforcing.

For instance, as part of our work to build a strong research workforce for our country, we are running a comprehensive postgraduate programme to equip students with the necessary research skills.

But this programme cannot succeed unless the basic education system provides a reliable supply of school leavers with quality passes to pursue STEM disciplines at universities.

Just as importantly, the basic education system must supply school leavers who qualify for engineering studies at TVET colleges. They are needed to build and maintain the equipment used to conduct research.

Furthermore, for the basic education system to operate optimally, policies and practices must be evidence-based.

Available data, which we constantly compile, analyse and interpret, and continuous new research inform the evidence used to inform policy decisions and practices.

The departments of Basic Education and Science, Technology and Innovation have a long-standing partnership that covers a variety of areas.

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and I agree that the work of our two departments is intricately linked, and our mandates are interdependent.

This is why we recently had a bilateral meeting where we agreed to strengthen and diversify the partnership between our two departments.

DSTI Programmes

The DSTI has implemented a number of programmes aimed at enabling the mandate of the Basic Education Department.

Some of these programmes include National Science Week, STEM Olympiads, STEM career material and a focus on 4IR literacy.

The National Science Week is an outreach programme that attracts over 4000 learners each year and engages them in a week-long programme of exciting activities which are meant to spark their curiosity and encourage them to take up careers in science. The DSTI is currently looking at extending National Science Week to become National Science Month.

STEM Olympiads provide a platform for learners to informally experiment with scientific theories. They are important for the development of skills such as problem solving, critical and computational thinking, communication and creativity.

The DSTI also produces and distributes a well-researched STEM career publication that explains STEM careers and associated paths, which is available on our website and can be delivered to schools upon request.

The DSTI Centre for High Performance Computing in Cape Town has trained close to 200 educators from all nine provinces as trainers on the basics of coding.

Science is an enabler for national development, and we will continue to help build and support an education system that is fit for the future.

Dr Blade Nzimande is the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Edwin Naidu

Politicians are good at speeches. But they must learn to walk the talk.

During the State of the Nation Address in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the government was committed to “ensuring that every child can read for meaning in the foundation phase”.

Such a commitment is empty without admitting that since democracy, the ANC has failed the children of South Africa. It regressed under the helm of former basic education minister Angie Motshekga.

But we don’t criticise our leaders who lead us down the drain. They must be praised at all costs.

And the government continues to make empty promises as 80% of Grade 3 learners cannot read for meaning in any language as measured by the South African systemic assessment.

Reports from the South African Systemic Evaluation (SASE) (2022) and the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (2021), which were released last year, support the findings of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study that 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language.

The SASE reveals that only 20% of Grade 3 learners perform at grade level or above in their home language, and nearly 70% of Grade 6 learners have not achieved grade-level reading skills in the language of learning and teaching – Afrikaans or English.

If that is not failure, then measuring success comes far too easily for our government, especially if one considers the razzmatazz around the matric results. How do you call it success when hundreds of thousands of learners starting Grade One don’t make it to matric?

A new report by the 2030 Reading Panel provides sobering reading. It highlights that the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng are the only provinces that are at different stages of implementing assessments at primary schools to improve reading.

It recommends that meaningful budgets be allocated to reading resources and interventions, with Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube emphasising that reading is a vital element of education reform and critical to protecting “South Africa’s greatest asset, our young people”.

The Reading Panel is made up of great South Africans and is led by chair Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is former deputy president of South Africa. They include vice-chancellors, leaders of education NGOs, and foundations.

To bolster its efforts in literacy reform and systemic change, the panel has four new experts – Prof. Veronica McKay, Dr Faranaaz Veriava, Kentse Radebe and Prof. Mary Metcalfe.

They are top education experts whose commitment to a better South Africa cannot be questioned.

I wish them well in their roles. However, like the president has shown when he speaks, nobody seems to listen. Is it because they cannot read?

In which case, some blame must fall at the door of Minister Motshekga, who spent more than a decade in the hotseat as the country’s education head. Children cannot read because education under her watch has been a failure.

If this pattern is not to be emulated by Gwarube, she must do more than her predecessor.

The 2030 Reading Panel is one great initiative.

But where are the young ambassadors to inspire others to join the fight to read? Too many experts and no children will trip up a great initiative.

Children need role models they can relate to. Perhaps, that’s something to consider when they bring others on board.

Edwin Naidu is Editor of Inside Education.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane has reaffirmed his commitment to implementing urgent measures to combat crime in schools across the province.

Speaking at the School Safety Imbizo in Sedibeng over the weekend, Chiloane welcomed the conclusion of a series of engagements held across Gauteng to tackle pressing school safety challenges. The meetings were attended by various education stakeholders, law enforcement agencies, community leaders, parents and learners.

“We do not have high-risk schools, we have schools that are at risk. And risk demands action,” he said.

The event was the last in a series of imbizos held in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and the West Rand.

The department pledged to compile a document of all concerns and suggested interventions from the community, integrating them into a broader strategy to enhance school safety across Sedibeng.

Chiloane emphasised that safety was not solely the responsibility of the police, but a collective effort that began at home.

He urged parents to actively engage in their children’s discipline, education and moral development, stating that a secure learning environment was built on strong families.

Chiloane assured attendees that the department would work closely with law enforcement agencies to increase police patrols in high-risk areas and introduce anti-drug programmes in schools.

In light of many schools struggling with electricity shortages, a situation exacerbated by unpaid municipal bills, Chiloane urged municipalities to refrain from cutting power supplies to schools, saying it had a detrimental impact on learning.

He confirmed that the department had made arrangements with all mayors and urged for greater understanding considering the importance of education.

The MEC stressed that a one-size-fits-all approach would not be effective, reiterating that meaningful change started at the grassroots level, with community members playing a pivotal role in creating safe learning environments.

Some concerns raised during the imbizo were the increasing presence of armed gangs and initiation school-related gangsterism, recurring burglaries, vandalism and theft, particularly of essential school resources.

Attendees were also unhappy about infrastructure challenges and power shortages due to cable theft. Reports of collapsing buildings and stolen fencing further underscored the vulnerability of schools to criminal activities.

Other concerns included the presence of dangerous weapons in schools, rising cases of bullying and cyberbullying and insufficient emergency preparedness measures.

Stakeholders also pointed out the dangers faced by learners outside school premises, such as frequent muggings, unhygienic water supply and poor sanitation facilities.

Department spokesperson Steve Mabona praised the event as an important platform for consolidating inputs on finding solutions to the challenges the province was grappling with.

“There is a commitment from the police to work with us, to make sure there is police visibility, which will assist. That is why we want them to work with us and make sure we are prioritised as a sector,” Mabona said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Simon Nare

President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed efforts by the Basic Education Department to strengthen technical and vocational pathways to high school pupils.

Writing in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the technical and vocational pathways were a solid path to employment and entrepreneurship.

The president said much needed to be done in improving the education system and for the past 30 years since the dawn of democracy, the government has been grappling with this matter.

He said one of the damaging effects of Bantu education during the apartheid regime was the deliberate neglect of black children and this was revealed in a study published in 1992 that found that only 6% of black children had access to early child development compared to one third of all white children.

“We have spent the last 30 years trying to correct this. This effort has now received greater impetus with the passage of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. This Act makes Grade R, the reception year before Grade 1, compulsory.

”Children who attend quality pre-primary programmes tend to have larger vocabularies, better number awareness, stronger perceptual skills, improved social skills and greater curiosity,” he said.

The president said quality early childhood development (ECD) promoted social equality and children from poor families benefited the most from access to ECD.

“As the learning journey progresses, quality ECD is also linked to better transitions into high school, lower repetition and dropout rates, and better academic performance overall,” he wrote.

The president said these were some of the issues that were discussed during the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla. which also touched on how best to realign the existing education curriculum to strengthen foundational learning.

Ramaphosa said it was widely recognised that investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education was key to economic growth, job creation, productivity and economic competitiveness.

“Such education prepares young people for a diverse range of occupations that are most needed by a growing economy,” he said.

He pointed out that last year, the Class of 2024 recorded an 87% pass rate, which was a welcome sign that efforts to transform the education system were bearing fruit.

However, he wrote that too many learners dropped out of school before writing matric and others struggled to get good marks, in part because they did not get the foundation they needed in early learning years.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Anika Stobart and Jordana Hunter

If you step into a newly built school these days, chances are you will see classrooms that look very different to the classrooms most of us spent our school years in as children.

On a recent visit to a new primary school in Melbourne, Grattan Institute’s education team entered a large room that contained two classes, separated not by a wall but a wide pillar that left room for teachers and students to move between the two “classroom” spaces.

In the first space, students were leaning forward at their desks, concentrating on their teacher. The room was very noisy. The teacher was only metres from her students, but her voice was all but drowned out by the second “classroom” on the other side.

This appears to be the trend in new classroom buildings around Australia.

For example, in 2017 the New South Wales government committed to building open-plan classrooms, each for up to 120 students, at more than 100 new schools. The Victorian government is building “new flexible learning communities”.

What does the research say about open-plan classrooms?

Arguments in favour of open-plan classrooms use phrases such as “21st century teaching” and “innovative design”. The idea is to have flexible classroom spaces that can cater for large groups of students, while also allowing students to break into smaller groups, directing their own learning while receiving support from a team of teachers working collaboratively.

But there is limited evidence open-plan classrooms help learning. In 2018 the University of Melbourne published a systematic review that only found 21 relevant studies since the 1960s that evaluated the impact of educational spaces on student learning outcomes. Of these, the studies showed open-plan environments had mixed effects on academic performance.

We do know too much noise is bad for learning. A 2015 Australian study compared speech perception in traditional and open-plan kindergarten classrooms and found noise coming from other classes in the open-plan setting made it more likely for students to misunderstand their teacher. The study found traditional classrooms were the only classroom type to be within or close to recommended noise levels.

Many open-plan learning spaces don’t align with internationally recognised evidence-based strategies for high-impact teaching.

For example, explicit teaching – where the teacher explains key concepts and procedures clearly and models how to solve problems to the whole class – is difficult to do well in a noisy environment. Imagine trying to teach division of fractions to your Year 5 class while the Year 4 class on the other side of the pillar practices their Mandarin oral language presentations.

Too much noise is bad for all students

Of course, traditional classrooms can also be noisy, but a 2013 United Kingdom survey of 2,500 high school students across six schools suggested students at schools with traditional classrooms were more positive about their school acoustics than students at schools with open-plan classrooms.

Too much noise is bad news for all students. But it is particularly worrying for students who have issues with hearing, auditory processing, and other additional learning needs, such as ADHD.

This is also inconsistent with state governments’ stated priorities of ensuring schools are inclusive spaces that cater for students with additional learning needs.

New classrooms should be built using evidence

State governments need to review the existing research – and seek more if needed – and ensure all new classrooms can support the learning of all students. This includes those with additional learning needs and those unlucky enough to be seated at the back of an open-plan classroom.

This is consistent with a 2022 NSW parliamentary inquiry into school infrastructure, which recommended school design should follow evidence, not fads.

Where necessary, state governments should also provide schools with funding to fix existing open-plan classrooms so teachers can reduce noisy distractions. Teachers should not have to build their own classroom walls “with whiteboards and shelving”.

Some state governments are spending significant funds building new schools and upgrading others in coming years. For example, the NSW government is spending A$8.6 billion on school infrastructure over the next four years. Queensland is spending A$2 billion on education infrastructure this year alone.

While investments in school infrastructure are of course welcome, the danger is many classrooms may be built in ways that undermine effective teaching. Classrooms designs should not create more work for teachers, just to make sure their students can hear them – and each other – speak.

Anika Stobart is a Senior Associate, Grattan Institute and Jordana Hunter is the School Education Program Director, Grattan Institute.

The Conversation

By Thapelo Molefe

KwaZulu-Natal’s education system is in crisis due to severe budget cuts, leaving the department struggling to maintain schools and pay for basic services. 

“Our problem is budget cuts,” said KZN head of education Nkosinathi Ngcobo. 

“We are left with 7% to do other things that need to be done. That’s the problem.”

In an interview with Inside Education following an oversight visit by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee of Basic Education last week, Ngcobo shed light on the dire financial situation plaguing the province’s education system. 

He said 93% of the department’s budget was allocated to employee compensation, leaving the department with little left to maintain schools, pay for utilities, or complete long-overdue infrastructure projects.

The department has been grappling with financial constraints since the 2020/2021 financial year, when budget cuts took effect. 

Ngcobo said the situation worsened when the National Treasury failed to provide additional funding for wage increases, forcing the department to absorb the cost.

“It is also caused by the fact that when wages increased by a certain percentage, the National Treasury did not give us that increment last year, and they said we must take it from our budget,” he explained.

“That’s how our budget was affected, and that makes it difficult to maintain schools, to pay for electricity and water.”

The committee observed that the lack of budget has affected various aspects, including maintenance at schools, delayed infrastructure projects, learner transport and even the frequency of meals provided through the National Schools Nutrition Programme.

Since the 2021/2022 financial year, the department has reduced its staff establishment by 4,231 posts, with 8,690 positions remaining vacant as of December 2024. 

Despite these reductions, the committee heard that the projected overspend for the provincial department for the 2025 year was R1.4 billion, as per January in-year monitoring against cost of employment (CoE), in the main.

The province’s Treasury told the committee that based on the provincial education’s budget submissions for 2025/26, it was estimated that there would be a shortfall of R2.7 billion on CoE.

Because CoE was protected, money would be moved from other line items to fund CoE.

Despite the financial strain, Ngcobo assured that employees’ salaries remain protected.

“We are not close to a point where employees won’t be getting paid. Salaries are protected,” he confirmed.

However, while employees can expect their salaries, service providers are not as fortunate. The department is struggling to meet payments to other service providers, further hampering its operations.

With financial pressures mounting, the department is looking to the National Treasury for relief.

“We will continue asking the Treasury to assist us,” Ngcobo said.

During the oversight visits to schools in the Ugu and Ilembe education districts, the committee came across several unfinished projects at schools where contractors had disappeared.

Acting committee chairperson Sedukanelo Tshepo Louw called on the national and provincial departments to follow up on these contractors.

“Consequence management is important. The department should do an investigation and should be able to tell us that they have opened a case against a contractor and we [are] going to recoup our money so that the schools can continue,” he said in a statement.

“The more we do not deal with those who take the public money and do not follow the right procedures, we will forever be in a disaster because we are giving money for free; it’s Christmas. There is no consequence management.”

He said that while the committee was aware of budget cuts, strategies could be implemented to respond to the current demands facing learners.

He also called on departments to review the quintile system for schools, as demographics have changed over the years, which in turn meant the quintile system should change.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Thapelo Molefe

The Basic Education Department has called on stakeholders to work together to ensure that all South African learners have access to quality education.

Following the three-day 10th Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, which ended on Saturday, Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule told government officials, educators, unions and industry leaders that the various discussions had helped lay the groundwork for long-lasting improvements in the education system.

“Together, we have embarked on a vital dialogue, interrogating the complex fabric of our basic education system. I believe that we have done the groundwork for transformative change that will undoubtedly transcend generations,” she stated.

The lekgotla provided a platform to address key challenges, review policy priorities and explore opportunities for collaboration.

Six commissions tackled crucial aspects of the education system.

They were foundational literacy and numeracy, early childhood development (ECD), care and support for teaching and learning, educational professional development for a changing world, education using ICT, and mother tongue-based bilingual education.

Participants engaged in detailed discussions to refine strategies and policies.

Recommendations emphasised workforce development, community engagement, inclusivity and the integration of digital solutions into teaching and learning.

A recurring theme throughout the lekgotla was the role of artificial intelligence in education, as well as equipping teachers with modern skills to navigate an evolving learning environment. 

The importance of ECD was also underscored, with a renewed commitment to multisectoral collaboration, evidence-based interventions and innovative teacher training approaches.

“The task ahead requires sustained effort, collaboration and innovation from all stakeholders involved. It is through our united efforts that we will ensure every learner in South Africa has access to quality education delivered by well-prepared, supported and motivated teachers,” the deputy minister emphasised.

Acknowledging the scale of the task ahead, she reaffirmed that education reform required patience, perseverance and collective efforts from all stakeholders.

“The task before us is huge, but together, there is no mountain we cannot climb or river we cannot cross. Let us carry forward the spirit of collaboration, innovation and unwavering commitment to our children’s future that has characterised this lekgotla,” Mhaule said in her closing address.

“The assignment of transforming the education system is not the sole mandate of DBE, but an-all stakeholder effort. Let us continue to work hand in hand to ensure that our education system is not just a mirror of our society but a beacon of hope, a catalyst for change and a bridge to a brighter, more inclusive future.”

As South Africa moves forward, the resolutions and commitments made at the 2025 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla will play a crucial role in shaping the future of learning, ensuring that education drives empowerment and national development.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Thapelo Molefe

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in education is sparking both excitement and concern in South Africa, as experts debate whether it will improve learning or deepen inequalities. 

Speaking at the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla. Unesco’s Prof. Shafika Isaacs warned that while AI offered new opportunities, it must be implemented responsibly.

“AI is not a magic solution for education’s challenges. If we are not careful, it could reinforce inequalities rather than solve them,” Isaacs said.

The conference brought together policymakers, educators and researchers to explore AI’s role in teaching, student support and administration. 

While AI-driven tools are helping automate lesson planning, grading and even tutoring, Isaacs cautioned against an overreliance on technology.

“We must ensure that AI in education serves public interest, not just commercial priorities,” she added, highlighting concerns about AI bias, data privacy and ethical use.

One of the biggest challenges raised at the lekgotla was AI’s lack of support for African languages. 

Prof. Vusi Marivate from the University of Pretoria emphasised the urgent need to develop AI tools that recognised and processed local languages.

“If AI is only trained in English and dominant global languages, it will exclude millions of African learners,” Marivate warned.

He explained that most AI models were developed using Western data, leaving South African students at a disadvantage. Without investment in African language AI, he said the country risked creating an education system where only English-speaking students benefited from AI-driven learning.

Another major issue discussed was the growing gap between well-resourced and underprivileged schools. While some private institutions have begun experimenting with AI-powered classrooms, many public schools struggle with basic digital access.

“AI could either be a tool for empowerment or a driver of exclusion, depending on how we implement it,” said a panellist during one of the discussions.

Experts agreed that without government investment in digital infrastructure, AI adoption could widen educational inequalities instead of addressing them.

Despite AI’s ability to assist in the classroom, panellists were clear that it should not replace human educators. Some schools globally have experimented with AI-led teaching, raising concerns about the dehumanisation of education.

They said students needed mentorship, emotional support and ethical guidance, which AI could not provide.

As South Africa navigates AI’s role in education, experts called for stronger regulations, ethical oversight and AI literacy training for teachers and students.

“We must approach AI critically, ensuring it aligns with our values of inclusivity, fairness, and accessibility,” Isaacs said.

The lekgotla was clear that AI would play a role in the future of education, but how it was implemented would determine whether it helped or harmed South Africa’s learners.

INSIDE EDUCATION