Minister Siviwe Gwarube: Basic Education Dept Budget Vote 2026/27

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, My co-pilot, the Deputy Minister,

Honourable Members, Fellow South Africans, Molweni

Let me begin with the tale of two 10-year-olds.

The first is Lindiwe. She attended an ECD centre with structured learning, qualified practitioners and proper nutrition. By age ten, she reads with understanding, solves mathematics problems confidently, and her future is bright.

The second is Nelson. He is just as bright and deserving. But he did not attend an ECD centre. He first encounters a book in Grade 1. By age ten, he cannot yet read for meaning, but he must write the same assessments as Lindiwe.

The curriculum moves forward. Nelson is left behind.

Honourable Members, over 90% of South African children are Nelsons and not Lindiwes.

This is the education injustice of our time.

The question before this House today is whether the implementation of this Budget Vote helps more children like Nelson receive the strong foundations that children like Lindiwe already have.

Because stronger foundations are the difference between a child who enters the future and a child who is locked out of it.

That is why I table Budget Vote 16 under the theme:

Choosing Reform Over Drift

In a few short weeks, this administration will mark two years in office. We inherited weak accountability, infrastructure backlogs, procurement failures and declining public trust.

Over the past two years, this administration has chosen a different path. We have chosen reform, discipline and delivery that must be felt in classrooms, teacher support and learner outcomes.

This Budget is tabled under severe fiscal pressure. But the future of South Africa cannot wait for perfect conditions.

It supports our core priorities: quality ECD, foundational literacy and numeracy, inclusive education, teacher development, school safety and infrastructure, and stronger governance.

Starting Earlier: ECD as Justice

Honourable Chairperson, if we want Nelson to keep up before he is left behind, we cannot start in Grade 4 or Grade 12. We must start earlier.

That is why Early Childhood Development is central to this Budget Vote. ECD is where inequality either begins to narrow or begins to harden.

Last year, we set ourselves an ambitious target of registering 10 000 ECD centres in one year so that more centres could enter the support and subsidy framework of government.

Many believed it could not be done but I’m happy to announce that we registered more than 13 300 ECD centres – exceeding our target by 33%!

ECD registration has grown by 200% between 2021 and 2026.

That means more than 1.2 million children now have access to registered ECD programmes and will enter school better prepared.

I am also pleased to announce that the ECD Nutrition Pilot has now entered implementation. The contract was advertised in March 2026, and we will soon pilot ECD nutrition in centres in the Eastern Cape.

This responds directly to the Thrive by Five findings that 7% of South Africa’s

children are stunted due to malnutrition.

These interventions mean more Nelsons will start school ready to learn.

Members, emerging international evidence points to developmental risks from excessive screen exposure in early childhood.

I am therefore announcing that we will develop national screen-time guidance for children aged 2 to 6, to help protect the development of language, attention, memory and social skills.

We are also reviewing the 2004 White Paper on e-Education and developing practical national guidance on the use of AI in classrooms.

Our approach is clear: the machine may assist, but the teacher must decide, the learner must think and the system must protect trust.

Grade R and the Next Span of the Bridge

Honourable Members,

Compulsory Grade R is one of the most important reforms in democratic South Africa.

But implementation has a cost.

Aligning qualified Grade R practitioner salaries with Foundation Phase educators, while appointing additional Grade R teachers, will cost approximately R10 billion over the Medium Term.

National Treasury has not allocated the full funding required.

We have therefore redirected R800 million from the ECD Grant to address immediate Grade R pressures.

This is not ideal, but doing nothing would be worse. We will continue engaging National Treasury for sustainable long-term funding.

We are also putting the regulations in place to support responsible implementation of the BELA Act. Draft regulations on admissions, school capacity and learner pregnancy have already been published for public comment.

Further draft regulations on teacher development, home education and a notice on SGB elections, amongst others, will be published for comment during this financial year.

Work to amend the South African Schools Act to recognise and regulate online schools is also underway.

I am also happy to announce that Cabinet has approved the Children’s Amendment Bill, which will now proceed through Parliament. It is critical to a more efficient, child-centred ECD system.

Reform is now being translated into laws that make delivery easier for the child, the parent, the teacher and the school.

Protecting Classrooms Through Financial Accountability

Fellow South Africans, a child experiences financial mismanagement as an overcrowded classroom, a vacant teacher post or a textbook that never arrives.

In September 2024, I informed the public of the results of a financial analysis I initiated into Provincial Education Departments. The findings were deeply concerning.

The analysis projected that three provincial education departments would fall into the red by 2025/26, rising to four by 2026/27 and seven by the outer year of the MTEF.

Those risks are now materialising in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Northern Cape, with others under growing pressure.

Today, I am announcing a Multi-disciplinary Recovery Technical Support Team of experienced advisors to support provinces on budget planning, financial analysis and school resourcing.

When provincial education finances fail, learners suffer first.

Provinces must also ensure that Norms and Standards funding allocations are paid to schools on time.

These funds are not optional. They are not a favour to schools. They are the lifeblood of teaching and learning.

Where payments are overdue, provinces must act urgently.

The learner must not become the shock absorber for provincial cash-flow failures.

National government will strengthen oversight, but provinces must meet their obligations on time, transparently and in full.

Strengthening Teaching and Foundational Learning

Colleagues, we are strengthening learning where it matters most: the Foundation Phase.

This year, 10 000 Foundation Phase teachers will receive targeted literacy and numeracy training while we refresh implementation of the National Reading Literacy Strategy.

Policy alone does not improve learning outcomes. Quality teaching does.

Therefore, teachers cannot spend more time filling in forms than teaching children.

I am pleased to announce that the National Education and Training Council has submitted proposals to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, and the Department will soon issue directives to provinces to drastically reduce reporting tools.

To the teachers of South Africa: we have heard you. Every hour returned to teaching is an hour returned to children.

Members, the Funza Lushaka bursary programme has also shifted decisively toward Foundation Phase education because early-grade teaching remains the single greatest lever for long-term system improvement.

In 2025, 42% of Funza Lushaka bursaries were allocated to Foundation Phase education. In 2026, this has increased to 55%.

The review of the formula used to allocate teachers to schools is also expected to conclude this financial year. This will ensure more teachers are allocated to the Foundation Phase.

If we are serious about literacy and numeracy, the earliest grades must receive the strongest support.

Measuring Quality, Not Only Pass Rates

Fellow South Africans, the next phase of reform must also change how we measure success.

We must applaud the Class of 2025 for achieving a pass rate of 88%, the highest in our country’s history.

But for too long, the national conversation on quality has been reduced to a single percentage – the national pass rate or the misleading myth of a 30% pass mark.

I am therefore announcing that, going forward, the Department will rank provincial performance through an inclusive basket of indicators focused on quality.

This quality basket will include the overall pass percentage, Bachelor pass attainment, distinctions, participation and performance in gateway subjects (like Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Accounting), as well as the learner retention rate.

This will give South Africans a more honest picture of quality, participation, progression and subject depth.

Because for Lindiwe and Nelson, a credible matric certificate must mean more than survival. It must mean readiness for the next step in life.

Chairperson, we must salute South Africa’s quality markers. In 2025, they detected anomalies in a small number of scripts in Gauteng. The breach was quickly identified and traced, and those implicated now face disciplinary and criminal processes.

The Department is implementing strengthened safety measures in line with the recommendations of the independent panel that investigated the breach.

Honourable members, I am also pleased to announce that this year South Africa will conduct the second South African Systemic Evaluation to measure national literacy and numeracy competencies in Grade 3.

We want to move towards annual rollout of these types of assessment.

We are also strengthening Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education assessments and rolling out the General Education Certificate programme to strengthen pathway planning and skills development.

Together, these reforms provide clearer data and stronger tools for intervention.

Safe Schools and Dignified Infrastructure

School safety and infrastructure remain urgent priorities.

We have eradicated 99.9% of the pit toilets identified in the 2018 SAFE Initiative backlog, with mop-up operations underway on the one remaining project in construction.

I am pleased that we are closing the last project on that backlog, but angry that it has taken this long. Project management in the public service must improve.

There may still be pit toilets missed in the 2018 survey or which emerged after 2018. We are therefore allocating R16.3 billion to the Education Infrastructure Grant for safety, sanitation, overcrowding reduction and rural infrastructure.

At the same time, we are strengthening learner wellness and anti-school-based violence interventions because violence and intimidation undermine educational outcomes directly.

Integrity in Procurement

Honourable Members, corruption destroys state capacity.

In education, corruption steals directly from children and teachers. It robs families of Strong Futures.

That is why integrity in procurement is critical.

Serious concerns were raised regarding the Foundation Phase National Catalogue process, which affects learning materials for our youngest learners in Grades 1 to 3.

I have considered advice from National Treasury and preliminary Internal Audit work. I will not pre-empt the outcome of any process.

However, the concerns are serious enough to require independent testing. While National Treasury’s consideration of the matter was inconclusive, it has

raised a concern about whether the Department’s deviation from ordinary

competitive bidding processes was lawfully justified and properly supported by the required reasons, records and approvals. Due to capacity constraints within National Treasury, it indicated that a proper conclusion requires a full investigation.

I am therefore announcing that the Department will launch an independent external investigation into the Foundation Phase National Catalogue process.

This investigation must be conducted urgently by a reputable, independent law firm with the expertise, credibility and capacity to withstand scrutiny.

This is about ensuring that quality textbooks reach learners on time through a

lawful, fair, transparent process worthy of public confidence.

Corruption in education is never victimless. And neither is weak governance. Both are ultimately paid for by children.

Honourable Chairperson, Budget Vote 16 allocates R38.2 billion in 2026/27, including R32.7 billion for conditional grants:

• almost R11 billion for school nutrition;
• R16 billion for school infrastructure;
• R4.6 billion for ECD;
• R477 million for Mathematics, Science and Technology;
• R307 million for learners with disabilities; and

These allocations only matter if they reach learners quickly, efficiently and transparently. Delivery must be felt in the classroom.

Conclusion: Stronger Foundations for Stronger Futures

Honourable Chairperson, history will not judge us by how many speeches we delivered or how many plans we announced.

It will judge us by whether children could read better, count better, learn in safety, eat at school and leave school with strong futures because we governed well.

This administration chooses reform over excuses, delivery over slogans and children over petty party politics.

Stronger foundations produce stronger schools, stronger communities and a stronger nation.

So, our task is clear: build the foundations, build them early, build them well and build them for every child.

Because stronger foundations prepare children for the future.

Strong Foundations build Strong Futures.

I thank you.

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