By Thapelo Molefe

Basic Education Director-General Mathanzima Mweli has dismissed claims of tension between him and Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, insisting that differences over the contested Foundation Phase textbook catalogue have been wrongly portrayed as a personal battle between the department’s two most senior officials.

Mweli has also rejected reports that he refused to undergo a lifestyle audit, saying he had in fact proposed that he, Gwarube and Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule voluntarily undergo the audits as a demonstration of their commitment to ethical and accountable leadership.

Mweli’s comments came amid the controversy surrounding the Foundation Phase National Catalogue for Grades 1 to 3, which has since been endorsed for implementation by the Council of Education Ministers (CEM), paving the way for provinces to procure learning and teaching materials from it for the 2027 academic year.

The decision followed consideration of the catalogue and reviews into its development by the Council of Education Ministers (CEM), which endorsed implementation on Friday.

‘Not a personal decision‘

Mweli told Inside Education, before the catalogue was approved, that the decision to support implementation of the catalogue was not his personal position, but that of the Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM), which brings together senior national and provincial education officials.

He said portraying the dispute as one between himself and Gwarube overlooked the role of provinces, which hold the budgets and are responsible for purchasing textbooks.

“DBE doesn’t buy books. Books are bought by provinces,” he said.

“Who has the money to buy books? Where is the money?” Mweli asked.

Mweli, who chairs HEDCOM, said his role should not be confused with the collective position taken by the committee.

“I’m a member of HEDCOM but I’m not HEDCOM,” he said.

Asked whether the disagreement over the catalogue was therefore between HEDCOM and Gwarube rather than between himself and the minister, Mweli responded: “Correct. Correct. Yes.”

He also rejected suggestions of a personal falling-out with Gwarube.

“There is no shred of evidence of any fight between the two of us,” Mweli said, adding that he and the minister continued to communicate on other education matters.

Mweli said his own opinion on whether the catalogue should proceed was irrelevant because the position had been taken collectively.

“I have no view. My view is irrelevant. Because I don’t buy books,” he said.

“The view that is there is the view of HEDCOM.”

Lifestyle audit clarity

On Monday night, Mweli issued a statement rejecting “widespread media and public comment concerning my position on a lifestyle audit”. saying he had not refused to undergo such.

“That characterisation does not reflect my position. I support lifestyle audits in the public service, and I am willing to undergo one,” he said.

“In fact, I was the person who initially proposed to the Minister and Deputy Minister of Basic Education that the three of us voluntarily undergo lifestyle audits as a demonstration of our commitment to ethical and accountable leadership. We agreed to do so,” Mweli said.

He said he thereafter encouraged other senior managers, including deputy directors-general, to participate.

Mweli said he had also engaged the head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to begin putting arrangements in place for the SIU to conduct the audits before they were publicly presented as an instruction from Gwarube to senior DBE managers.

He said his subsequent concerns were not about whether he should undergo an audit, but about how his audit would be conducted, including the handling of confidential and personal information.

“They concern the manner in which the particular process relating to me is to be conducted, including the treatment of confidential and personal information and the safeguards applicable to the process,” Mweli said.

He said lifestyle audits involved sensitive personal and financial information and should comply with the applicable public-service framework governing confidentiality, fairness, independence, due care and professionalism.

“My raising concerns about that process should not be portrayed as a refusal to account or to submit to legitimate scrutiny,” Mweli said. 

He also rejected suggestions that his position on the audit raised questions about his integrity or responsibility for public funds.

“I reject that implication. My raising concerns about the manner in which the process is to be conducted does not alter my willingness to undergo the audit,” he said.

‘No public debate’

He said he would not publicly debate the details of the audit process because of its confidential nature.

“My focus remains on the responsibilities of my office, the work of the Department of Basic Education, and the interests of South Africa’s learners,” Mweli said.

On 19 September, the DBE announced that the 2026 Foundation Phase National Catalogue had been approved and endorsed and that provinces were empowered to use it immediately.

The department said procurement had already commenced.

According to the DBE, the decision followed a review process involving an Auditor-General of South Africa audit, an independent investigation and legal opinions from the department’s internal legal services and external Senior Counsel.

In a statement, the department said the reviews had confirmed the integrity of the process and found “NO FRAUD, NO FAVOURITISM, and therefore NO BASIS TO CANCEL (sic)”.

Recommendations arising from the reviews would, however, be incorporated into efforts to strengthen governance and administration around learning and teaching support materials while implementation continued.

The decision marks a significant shift from the position announced by Gwarube on 2 September, when she said the suspension would remain in place while the legal implications of findings from an independent investigation were considered.

At the time, the minister said the investigation had identified material areas of non-compliance, governance weaknesses and potential procurement and financial management risks.

She said the existing catalogue would remain available to provinces for the 2027 school year while the new catalogue underwent further legal scrutiny and remediation.

Competitive bidding concerns

Gwarube had previously raised concerns over the way the catalogue process departed from ordinary competitive bidding procedures.

In her May 2026 Budget Vote, she said a National Treasury assessment had been inconclusive but had raised questions over whether the deviation from normal competitive bidding had been properly justified and supported by the required records and approvals.

She subsequently ordered an independent external investigation.

The catalogue also became the subject of parliamentary scrutiny, with the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education resolving to refer the process to the Public Protector following concerns over procurement, the blind screening strategy and conflicting accounts from senior officials.

The catalogue is now listed on the department’s official learning and teaching support materials page as the 2026 Foundation Phase National Catalogue for Grades 1 to 3.

It covers materials for Home Language, First Additional Language, Mathematics, Life Skills and Coding and Robotics.

The DBE says the catalogue is intended to provide updated, curriculum-aligned materials while strengthening foundational literacy and access to newer curriculum areas.

One of the most significant changes concerns reading material.

The catalogue provides for 40 readers per class and a Core Reader for every learner, while reducing the number of listed titles from eight to three.

The department says the reduction is intended to allow more focused teacher development and subject-advisory support around a smaller number of approved resources.

It has also said the approach could create efficiencies through economies of scale and broaden participation in the publishing sector.
The catalogue process has previously faced gaps in some African languages.

In March, the DBE said it had identified 107 gaps across languages and invited publishers to submit material to address them, with significant shortages in IsiNdebele, Siswati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga.

The DBE said it had already engaged provinces on procurement arrangements. “The priority now is delivery,” the department said.

It said the education sector would need to work together to ensure books were purchased and delivered as effectively as possible ahead of the new school year.

The catalogue forms part of a wider push to improve foundational learning.

Gwarube has previously announced that 10,000 Foundation Phase teachers would receive targeted literacy and numeracy training during 2026/27 as part of efforts to improve early-grade reading and mathematics.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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