Team South Africa secured fourth place at the World Spelling Bee Championship in Shanghai, China, with 13-year-old North West learner Mbulelo Tolom finishing sixth overall.
The six-member South African team competed at the international championship from 13 to 20 July.
Tolom, a Grade 7 learner at Klerksdorp Primary School in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District, was the youngest member of the South African team.
He competed against learners in higher grades and finished sixth in the individual competition, with the department praising his spelling ability, determination and resilience.
North West Education MEC Viola Motsumi congratulated the team on its fourth-place finish and commended its performance against international competitors.
“Allow me to congratulate Team South Africa on this exceptional achievement at an international level. Their performance demonstrates the high quality of education provided in our schools and confirms that South African learners can compete with the very best in the world,” Motsumi said.
She also praised Tolom’s individual performance, saying his age and background had not prevented him from competing successfully at the international level.
13-year-old North West learner Mbulelo Tolom finished sixth overall. (Photo supplied)
“I am also exceptionally proud of Mbulelo Tolom for achieving the sixth place overall in the World Spelling Bee Championship. As the youngest member of Team South Africa, Mbulelo competed against learners from higher grades and from some of the best schools across the world. His achievement proves that one’s background does not determine one’s destination, but that hard work, determination and commitment can lead to success,” Motsumi said.
“Mbulelo has shown that South African learners have the talent and confidence to compete on the global stage. He is an inspiration and a positive role model for many young people in the North West Province and across the country,” she added.
The country’s best-performing and most-improved education districts and schools will be recognised at the 12th National Education Excellence Awards in Sandton on Friday, the Department of Basic Education said.
The awards, held under the theme “Strong Foundations, Strong Futures”, will recognise performance in the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations, improvements in learning outcomes, district leadership and the maintenance of school facilities.
The event will be held at the NH Hotel Johannesburg in Sandton from 08:30 in partnership with Canva.
“Education Districts are the glue that holds the entire basic education ecosystem together,” the department said, adding that districts work with provincial education departments to improve the functioning of schools across the country.
Candidates are drawn from districts in all nine provinces.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule and Director-General Mathanzima Mweli are expected to present the awards alongside the department’s partners. The event will conclude with the presentation of a Special Ministerial Award.
District awards will include separate categories for the top-performing district serving up to 400 schools and the top-performing district serving more than 400 schools, based on their overall pass rates in the 2025 NSC examinations.
Other district categories will recognise the most improved district, the district that produced the highest number of bachelor passes and districts that recorded the strongest balance between participation and achievement in Accounting, Mathematics and Physical Science.
Awards will also be presented for excellence in district leadership and management and for support provided to improve learning outcomes in primary schools.
School categories include the top-performing public ordinary school in each of the five school quintiles, based on Quality Performance Indicators applied to the 2025 NSC results.
The department will also recognise the top-performing full-service school and primary and secondary schools that have demonstrated excellence in the upkeep and maintenance of their facilities.
The Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) has appointed Kedibone Moroane-Nkhobo as its new chief executive officer, saying the appointment comes as it seeks to strengthen skills development and stakeholder partnerships in the energy and water sectors.
EWSETA said that Moroane-Nkhobo brings extensive executive leadership experience in the post-school education and training sector, particularly in research, skills planning and strategic management.
“Kedibone brings more than 18 years of experience across the mining and chemical manufacturing sectors, including over a decade in executive leadership,” the organisation said.
“Her expertise spans organisational strategy, governance, institutional transformation and stakeholder collaboration. She also played a leading role in advancing South Africa’s green hydrogen ecosystem, including the establishment of Green Hydrogen Centres of Specialisation.”
“She holds an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public and Development Management.”
EWSETA said it was confident Moroane-Nkhobo’s knowledge, leadership and collaborative approach would strengthen the authority’s contribution to the sector and the communities it serves.
EWSETA board chairperson Morwesi Ramonyai-Thonga also expressed the board’s appreciation to Robyn Vilakazi for her leadership as acting chief executive officer.
“Her stewardship, commitment and dedication have ensured continuity, organisational stability and continued delivery during this important transition,” Ramonyai-Thonga said in a statement.
“The Board remains committed to building on the strong foundation established through the collective efforts of our employees, stakeholders and partners. We look forward to working closely with Kedibone Moroane-Nkhobo as we continue to advance our shared vision of a skilled, capable and inclusive workforce that supports sustainable economic growth.”
Ramonyai-Thonga said EWSETA’s organisational values of Respect, Integrity, Teaming and Excellence, known as RITE, would continue to guide its work and relationships with those it serves.
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has warned Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) that poor governance, misuse of public funds and resistance to oversight will not be tolerated, saying institutions that undermine public trust will face consequences.
Delivering the keynote address at the induction of newly appointed SETA Accounting Authorities and chief executive officers in Boksburg on Thursday, Manamela said the skills development system was entering a period of reform aimed at improving governance, accountability and performance.
He told the newly appointed boards and executives that their appointments carried significant public responsibility because SETAs controlled substantial public resources and played a key role in developing the country’s workforce.
“Your appointment is not an administrative honour. It is a public duty,” Manamela said.
“You have been entrusted with institutions that control substantial public resources, that shape the future of entire industries, and that touch the lives of millions – workers, unemployed young people, students, employers and communities.”
The minister said South Africa could not afford “another season of institutional drift, weak governance, and programmes that consume public money without producing public value.”
He said the department was implementing a broader “Skills Revolution” that would shift the focus from measuring activity to measuring outcomes such as employment, productivity and economic development.
“The Skills Revolution is not a slogan. It is a programme to reorganise the skills system around the developmental needs of the country,” he said.
Manamela stressed that SETAs should no longer see themselves as grant-disbursing agencies or procurement centres but as strategic institutions responsible for identifying skills shortages, supporting workplace learning and responding to changing labour market needs.
He also warned Accounting Authorities and executive management against governance failures, saying board members should not interfere in operational matters or use their positions to pursue personal interests.
“Board members must not use their seats to chase contracts, appointments, or the interests of those who nominated them,” he said.
“Chief Executives must not treat their boards as ceremonial.”
The minister said several SETAs had required intervention in recent years because of governance failures and investigations involving bodies such as the Special Investigating Unit, the Public Protector and the National Skills Authority.
He announced that cooperation with the National Skills Authority (NSA) would become mandatory, warning that delays, incomplete disclosure and obstruction of oversight would no longer be accepted.
“We will not tolerate delayed documents. We will not tolerate selective disclosure. We will not tolerate correspondence that goes unanswered,” Manamela said.
“Delay is not cooperation. Partial cooperation is not cooperation. And respect for lawful oversight is not optional.”
Manamela said government would support institutions that demonstrated improvement but would act against those guilty of persistent non-performance or misuse of public resources.
“Where there is obstruction, concealment, persistent non-performance, the misuse of public resources, or defiance of lawful oversight – there will be consequences,” he said.
Students’ Representative Councils (SRCs) at four major universities have called for the R52,000 annual NSFAS accommodation cap to be scrapped, saying that funding shortfalls are driving poor and working-class students into debt and putting their studies at risk.
In a joint statement released earlier this week, SRCs from the University of Cape Town (UCT), University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), University of Johannesburg (UJ), and Stellenbosch University (SU) called on the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), and the Competition Commission to urgently address the student accommodation crisis.
They said the problems were not unique to the four institutions but reflected the experiences of students at public universities across South Africa.
Last month, the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training expressed concern about accommodation funding shortfalls contributing to student debt at UCT during a briefing on governance, administration, teaching and learning, and other matters.
“UCT indicated that student accommodation cap introduced by NSFAS was reducing the number of students able to access university accommodation,” the committee said.
The committee said NSFAS introduced the cap in 2023 as a measure to prevent private accommodation providers from inflating prices.
“The problem is that there are corrupt individuals and private property owners who charge ridiculous amounts for student accommodation,” committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said.
The committee noted that UCT absorbed the full funding shortfall on behalf of students in 2023, while the UCT SRC accused NSFAS of failing to provide clarity on whether its proposed referral of private accommodation providers to the Competition Commission had been made and what had become of it.
“The SRC said it wanted NSFAS to exempt all UCT-owned residences from the accommodation cap,” the committee stated.
The committee also said some student debt arising from accommodation funding shortfalls was linked to negotiations and contracts entered into by the university with private providers, even though the university did not financially benefit from student accommodation.
In May, shortly after NSFAS was placed under administration, the scheme announced that more than R1.1 billion had been disbursed during that quarter for private accommodation payments, benefiting more than 100,000 students.
NSFAS said 95% of accommodation providers listed on its solution partner portals had verified their banking details and were included in direct payments for 2026.
The scheme said it was legally mandated to bring accommodation payment functions in-house from 2026, a move it claimed had helped resolve various system challenges.
According to NSFAS, the changes addressed delays by institutions in confirming students, the misclassification of students as transport-allowance recipients, and uncertainties around accommodation accreditation.
In a follow-up statement, the SRCs said that the continued enforcement of the accommodation cap, combined with a lack of regulation of accommodation pricing, had created an unsustainable environment that disproportionately affected poor and working-class students.
“Since the release of the original statement, it has become increasingly evident that this is a national higher education crisis requiring immediate and coordinated intervention,” they said.
“Students continue to face accommodation debt, threats of eviction, registration barriers, delayed academic progression, and uncertainty.”
They said the growing number of SRCs supporting the position demonstrated a collective belief across universities that the current system was failing students.
“This is no longer an issue affecting isolated institutions — it is a systemic crisis demanding national attention. We therefore reaffirm the demands contained in the original joint statement,” they said.
They called on DHET, NSFAS and the Competition Commission to remove the NSFAS accommodation cap, regulate student accommodation prices across the public and private sectors, and immediately announce the 2026 NSFAS meal and rental allowance rates.
“We remain committed to working collectively in defence of students and will continue to advocate until meaningful and lasting solutions are implemented,” they said.
South African universities and colleges must give students greater workplace exposure because qualifications alone are no longer enough to secure employment in a rapidly changing digital economy, Deputy Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele has said.
Speaking at the Skills for the Economy and Industry Dialogue, Gungubele said South Africa faced a disconnect between employers reporting shortages of digital skills and young graduates struggling to find work.
“Industry tells us there is a shortage of digital skills. Young people tell us they cannot find work. Educational institutions continue to produce graduates. Clearly, somewhere within this ecosystem, there is a disconnect,” he said.
He said work-integrated learning, including internships, mentorship, practical projects and exposure to employers, should become central to preparing students for employment.
“One of the greatest mistakes we can make is to believe that qualifications alone are enough,” he said.
“Increasingly, employers are asking a different question: Not only, ‘What qualification do you have?’ But also, ‘What can you actually do?’”
The dialogue brought together government, universities, technical and vocational education and training institutions, industry representatives and young people to examine how education could respond more effectively to the requirements of the digital economy.
Gungubele said young people needed opportunities to demonstrate their abilities in real workplaces through internships, innovation challenges and industry projects.
“They need the confidence that comes from solving real problems,” he said.
“This aligns perfectly with the Department’s vision of promoting a skills-first approach, where competence, creativity and innovation are recognised alongside formal qualifications.”
Participants were expected to produce an Industry Expectations Statement, Youth Transition Insights, an Action and Commitments Matrix and a mechanism to ensure that commitments made during the dialogue were implemented.
Gungubele said universities should not be judged only by the number of graduates they produced.
“Universities must not only produce graduates; they must also become centres of innovation where research is translated into practical solutions that grow the economy, create jobs and improve people’s lives,” he said.
He pointed to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies’ partnership with the Tshwane University of Technology, which hosts one of the department’s Artificial Intelligence Innovation Hubs.
The hub focuses on the automotive sector and brings together students, researchers and industry to develop artificial intelligence solutions aimed at strengthening South Africa’s manufacturing capability.
Gungubele said artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data science, software engineering, robotics and advanced manufacturing were transforming the economy and changing the skills employers required.
Young people attending the programme had participated in exhibitions, technology demonstrations and other practical activities before the formal dialogue. They also interacted with industry partners, innovators and entrepreneurs.
“That practical engagement is important, because learning cannot remain confined to the classroom,” Gungubele said.
“Young people must be able to touch technology, experience innovation, interact with employers and begin to see themselves as active participants in the digital economy.”
He said universities should identify where curricula needed to evolve, while employers should clearly state which skills were missing from the labour market.
Government, in turn, needed to respond through policy and programmes and include young people in discussions about the transition from education to employment.
“Too often we speak about young people. Today we must speak with them,” he said.
“We need to understand the barriers they experience when transitioning from learning into employment.”
Gungubele said investments in broadband, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence and innovation would have limited economic value unless South Africa also developed people capable of using those technologies.
“A fibre network without skilled people creates limited value. A data centre without digital talent creates limited value. Artificial Intelligence without ethical, capable innovators creates limited value,” he said.
He called on government, educational institutions, industry and development partners to make clear commitments that young people could hold them accountable for.
Gungubele warned that technological change would continue regardless of whether South Africa’s education and training system was prepared.
“The only question is whether South Africa will produce the talent that leads this transformation, or whether we will simply consume innovations developed elsewhere,” he said.
Every World Youth Skills Day, South Africa performs the same ritual. We speak solemnly about the skills crisis and reach for a familiar list: electricians, plumbers, welders, mechanics and technicians. The concern is justified.
According to the Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa produced 19,536 qualified artisans in 2022/23, while the National Development Plan sets a target of 30,000 qualified artisans annually by 2030. The shortage of qualified tradespeople is a brake on development. But we make a serious mistake when we allow the artisan shortage to define the entire conversation about skills.
An artisan is an occupation; a skill is a human capability. By confusing the two, we have reduced skills development to a pathway for some young people, rather than recognising it as the purpose of education for every young person. This misunderstanding is reinforced by the false divide between academic and vocational education. Schools, we imply, develop knowledge; colleges develop skills. One pathway is supposedly for thinking and the other for doing. Real life does not work that way.
A good electrician does not merely connect wires; they interpret a system, diagnose a fault and adapt when the problem changes. A good historian does not merely remember dates; they evaluate evidence, identify bias and construct an argument. Both are thinking, both are doing and both are skilled. The distinction that matters is not between knowledge and skills, but between knowledge that remains inert and knowledge that can be used.
Training grounds
School subjects should be understood as training grounds for human capability. Geometry develops spatial reasoning and disciplined argument; history teaches learners to reason from evidence and geography develops systems thinking. Languages develop interpretation, persuasion and clarity, while mathematical literacy strengthens numerical judgment. The question every teacher should answer is not only, “What content am I covering?” It is also, “What capability is this lesson developing?”
A learner who can repeat a method has not necessarily learnt to adapt it when the problem changes. Likewise, a high mark is not always proof that knowledge can travel beyond the examination paper. Artificial intelligence has made this distinction impossible to ignore. A machine can now produce an essay, summarise a report, generate code, analyse a spreadsheet and offer a plausible answer within seconds. Information is becoming abundant. Answers are becoming cheap. Judgment is not.
The educational response cannot be to race machines in producing first drafts, or to add coding lessons to an already crowded curriculum and declare learners future ready. Coding matters, but its deepest value is not the syntax of one programming language, which may change or be automated. Its enduring value lies in computational thinking: abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, logic and breaking a large problem into solvable parts.
The same is true of prompting, often described as a new technical skill. A prompt is reasoning made visible. To ask a powerful question, a learner must understand the problem, define the context, choose precise language, recognise assumptions and judge whether the answer is credible. Artificial intelligence does not remove the need for knowledge. It exposes the weakness of knowledge that has never been converted into judgment.
Giving every learner access to an AI platform will not transform education, just as giving every learner a calculator did not create mathematical understanding. A tool magnifies the capability of its user. Where reasoning is strong, it can extend possibility; where reasoning is weak, it can produce confident error at remarkable speed. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, employers increasingly prioritise analytical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication and lifelong learning as work becomes more complex and technology driven. Technical requirements will keep changing, but these human capabilities will determine who moves with that change.
Diagnose rather than guess
South Africa needs more artisans, but it must also understand why outstanding artisans are outstanding. They diagnose rather than guess, work precisely, solve unfamiliar problems, communicate and take responsibility for their decisions. Those are not merely vocational qualities. They are equally necessary in an engineer, entrepreneur, researcher, nurse, teacher or software developer.
World Youth Skills Day should force us to ask a harder question than how many young people we are training for a particular occupation: are our classrooms deliberately developing people who can use knowledge when the script disappears?
That requires assessments that reward reasoning and application; teacher development that connects subject content to capability; stronger movement between academic, technical and vocational pathways; and classrooms in which curiosity, experimentation and revision are treated as serious intellectual work. South Africa’s skills crisis will not be solved by choosing vocational education over academic education, or by adding technology to unchanged teaching. It will be solved when we stop treating knowledge and skills as rivals. Knowledge is the raw material; skill is the ability to turn it into judgment, action, and value.
Artificial intelligence has not changed the purpose of education. It has stripped away our excuses for misunderstanding it. The nations that shape the future will not necessarily be those whose learners can recall the most information. They will be those whose young people can question it, connect it, test it and use it to solve problems that have not even been defined.
The question for South Africa is whether we will educate that generation or merely train it to consume what somebody else has built.
Dumisani Tshabalala is the Head of Academics at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
The University of Limpopo (UL) has trained teachers to recognise early signs of vision problems among learners and refer them for professional eye examinations before untreated conditions begin to affect their classroom performance.
The university’s Department of Optometry hosted the training seminar under the National Research Foundation’s Knowledge Interchange and Collaboration project, “Early Detection of Visual Inefficiencies Within a School System”.
The event brought together teachers, researchers and optometry students to strengthen cooperation in the early identification and referral of learners experiencing possible vision difficulties.
Dr Pheagane Nkoana, a senior lecturer in the Department of Optometry at UL, said teachers played an important role in early detection because of the time they spent observing learners in the classroom.
“Teachers are often the first to notice when a learner is struggling with their vision. By equipping them with the right skills, we can ensure learners receive timely care and the support they need to succeed,” Nkoana said.
During practical training sessions, teachers learnt to identify warning signs of possible vision problems, including frequent squinting, excessive blinking, persistent headaches, holding books too close to the face and difficulty reading from the classroom board.
Learners displaying these signs can then be referred for professional eye examinations and appropriate care.
The programme is consistent with South Africa’s Integrated School Health Policy, which includes vision screening among the health services provided to learners during different phases of their schooling.
The policy aims to assess learners at least once during each educational phase and allows for additional assessments when concerns are raised by teachers, parents or learners.
The World Health Organisation says vision impairment can affect educational achievement and quality of life, while uncorrected refractive errors remain a leading cause of vision impairment among children.
The UL seminar also highlighted research conducted through the university’s Optometry Clinic on visual conditions found in Limpopo communities, including vernal keratoconjunctivitis and keratoconus.
Both conditions can affect children and interfere with their learning when they are not diagnosed and treated.
University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) student Andiswa Mbanjwa has been selected for a 15-member South African squad that will compete at the Commonwealth Kho Kho Championships in India.
The competition will take place from 6 to 13 October and is expected to attract teams from more than 24 Commonwealth countries.
Mbanjwa, 21, said she was proud to have made the national team after missing selection for South Africa’s squad for the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup in 2025.
“I failed to qualify for the South African team in 2025, but I’m so happy that my determination, hard work, and perseverance paid off this year, granting me an opportunity to represent my country with pride,” Mbanjwa said.
South Africa’s men’s and women’s teams won bronze medals at the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup in New Delhi in January 2025. Mbanjwa hopes to help the country build on that performance by challenging for gold at the Commonwealth championships.
Kho Kho is a traditional Indian tag sport played on a rectangular court. In the standard format, each side fields nine players, with teams alternating between chasing and defending. The chasing team attempts to eliminate defenders by tagging them with their hands.
UKZN said Mbanjwa was introduced to the sport in 2017 while she was still in primary school. She progressed to district level, representing uMgungundlovu in 2019, before competing for KwaZulu-Natal at national games in 2021 and 2023.
Mbanjwa is also a netball player and was selected for national top-35 under-18 and under-19 squads in 2022 and 2023 respectively. She currently plays for UKZN’s first-division netball team.
The third-year Bachelor of Education student, who specialises in Foundation Phase teaching, hopes to use her qualification to introduce young learners to sport, particularly indigenous games.
UKZN executive director of corporate relations Normah Zondo congratulated Mbanjwa on her selection and said the university was proud of student athletes who excelled academically and in competitive sport.
“Andiswa’s selection to represent South Africa in Kho Kho reflects not only her dedication and talent but also the spirit of excellence that defines UKZN,” Zondo said.
“We congratulate her on this remarkable achievement and wish her every success as she proudly represents both the University and South Africa at the Commonwealth Kho Kho Championships.”
Learners from seven schools in the Cederberg will take part in a scientific experiment examining how exposure to space affects the germination and growth of rooibos seeds.
The Rooibos in Space programme, launched at Parklands College’s Innovation Centre in Cape Town last week, will see rooibos seeds sent to the International Space Station later this year.
The seeds are expected to be launched in October and exposed to microgravity and space radiation for several weeks before being returned to South Africa.
Learners will then plant the space-travelled seeds alongside a control group that remained on Earth. They will collect and analyse data on germination, plant growth, resilience and yield.
The participating schools are based in the Cederberg, where rooibos occurs naturally and is commercially cultivated. Learners will work with local rooibos farms as part of the structured scientific investigation.
A parallel experiment will be conducted at Parklands College to provide additional comparative data.
The initiative was conceptualised by the South African Rooibos Council and is being delivered in collaboration with space-focused STEM education company MaxIQ Space, with support from the South African National Space Agency.
It is intended to give learners practical exposure to space science, plant biology, sustainable agriculture and scientific data collection.
Said South African Rooibos Council director Dawie de Villiers: “Rooibos has long been part of South Africa’s agricultural heritage. This project places it within a broader scientific context, where plant biology, space research and education intersect. It also reflects the importance of investing in scientific literacy and skills development for the next generation of researchers and innovators.”
The participating schools will also take part in an extended STEM education programme aligned with curriculum outcomes.
The programme will introduce learners to the scientific method and show them how researchers develop experiments, record observations, analyse data and compare results.
MaxIQ Space founder and director Judi Sandrock said the initiative was designed to give learners experience of an authentic research project rather than only teaching space science as a theoretical subject.
“The value of this project lies in giving learners exposure to real research processes linked to space science. It provides a structured opportunity to develop scientific thinking, data analysis skills and an understanding of how experimentation works in practice.”
The project comes as international space agencies increase their research into the possibility of growing plants during long-duration missions.
Plants could potentially support future crews by providing food, contributing to oxygen production and helping to create more sustainable living systems during extended missions beyond Earth.
Previous experiments aboard the International Space Station have examined how crops including lettuce, peas and soybeans respond to microgravity and other environmental stresses.
Representatives from the Western Cape Education Department, SANSA, the University of Cape Town, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, the rooibos industry and the City of Cape Town attended the launch.
SANSA science engagement manager Thandile Vuntu said space science was increasingly connected to fields affecting people’s everyday lives.
“Initiatives such as this help build awareness of the skills required for future participation in the sector, but also align with national priorities around skills development, innovation capacity and strengthening South Africa’s position in emerging scientific fields. They further highlight the importance of collaboration between industry, government, academia and the science sector in building a strong pipeline of future scientists, engineers and researchers,” he said.
Dr Kelebogile Gasealahwe, a South African Radio Astronomy Observatory postdoctoral fellow at UCT, also addressed learners during the launch.
Gasealahwe, whose research focuses on X-ray binary systems, spoke about her journey from Kimberley to a career in astrophysics and encouraged learners to remain curious and consider the range of career paths available in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
She also highlighted South Africa’s role in global astronomy research through facilities such as the MeerKAT radio telescope.
Learners outside the participating schools will be able to become involved by entering a national competition to design the official Rooibos in Space mission patch during July and August.
Organisers said public updates, learner activities and mission milestones would continue to be shared ahead of the planned October flight.
