South Africa: Department of Basic Education excited to get 2019 school year underway

The Department participates in a number of International and regional assessments that all indicate that South Africa’s education system is a system on the rise.

The Department of Basic Education is excited to get the 2019 school year underway. We have around one million Grade 1 learner eagerly entering the basic education system for the first time to start their academic journey with us. We are committed to doing all within our mandate to ensure that we retain all of these learners in the system and see them prosper to become active citizens by graduating with a National Senior Certificate in their 12 years with us.

We have put a number of initiatives in place to ensure that these young people entering the system have the best chance of success. We have implemented the Early Grade Reading Study which is an intervention to improve literacy at the foundation phase of the education system. We have the Read to the Lead campaign which will ensure that there is a continuous focus on reading for pleasure as a mechanism to improve not only literacy levels in the country but also critical thinking and innovation.

The Department participates in a number of International and regional assessments that all indicate that South Africa’s education system is a system on the rise. Learners are in a better position than ever before in the history of our country to succeed through access to quality basic education, this includes learners who are from the poorest communities who are reaping the benefits of a transforming education system.

Learners in poor schools will have access to textbooks, workbooks and stationary as they start of the 2019 academic year. The Department is ready to once again begin providing school lunches on day one as part of the National School Nutrition Programme to learners who rely on this for vital nutrients to get them through the school day.

Major efforts have been made through a collaboration with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Labour to ensure that learners have the requisite school furniture on day one of the academic years.

Impressive strides have been made in the provision of school infrastructure and 2019 will see the continued rollout of the SAFE (Sanitation Appropriate for Education) initiative, ensuring the provision of adequate sanitation solutions for schools.

The Minister and Deputy Minister of Basic Education will be in KwaZulu-Natal for the start of the academic year where they will be visiting schools in the province to personally monitor readiness.

(With Inputs from South African Government Release)