The Minister of Basic Education, Honourable Siviwe Gwarube, has unveiled a series of major education reforms during the Department of Basic Education’s 2026/27 Budget Vote speech, themed “Strong Foundations for Strong Futures.”
In a statement released by the Ministry of Basic Education, the announcements form part of the 7th Administration’s plans to strengthen foundational learning, improve teacher support and accountability, expand access to Early Childhood Development (ECD), and modernise the education system.
One of the key highlights was the continued growth of ECD services across the country. Minister Gwarube revealed that ECD centre registrations have increased by 200% since 2021, expanding access to approximately 1.2 million children nationwide.
To tackle hunger and poor nutrition among young children, the Department will launch an ECD Nutrition Pilot Programme in the Eastern Cape. The initiative aims to address malnutrition and stunting during the early years of childhood development.
The Minister also announced that national screen-time guidelines for children aged two to six years will be developed. The guidelines are intended to assist parents, caregivers, and schools in limiting excessive exposure to phones and tablets amid concerns about the impact on language development, memory, attention span, and social skills.
In a significant legislative development, Gwarube confirmed that the Children’s Amendment Bill has received Cabinet approval and will now move through Parliament.
“The Bill is critical to unlocking a more efficient, child-centred ECD system so that vulnerable children are not excluded from support because of unnecessary red tape,” said Gwarube.
The Department also plans to establish a Multi-Disciplinary Technical Support Team to assist Provincial Education Departments facing severe financial pressures. The team will support provinces with budget planning, financial analysis, school resourcing, and financial stabilisation to help safeguard classroom learning and improve governance.
As part of efforts to improve foundational education, 10 000 Foundation Phase teachers will receive targeted literacy and numeracy training during the 2026/27 financial year, while the Department refreshes implementation of the National Reading Literacy Strategy.
Recognising the growing administrative demands placed on educators, the Minister said the Department would issue directives aimed at drastically reducing paperwork and reporting requirements.
“We are reducing the administrative burden on teachers. Educators must spend more time teaching children and less time filling in unnecessary paperwork,” she said.
Another major reform announced during the Budget Vote is a new approach to ranking provincial matric performance. Rather than focusing solely on matric pass rates, the Department will introduce a broader basket of quality indicators, including learner retention, bachelor passes, literacy and numeracy progression, mathematics participation, and overall learning improvement.
The Department will also launch an independent external forensic investigation into the Foundation Phase National Catalogue process.
Despite ongoing financial pressures, Gwarube confirmed that the Department of Basic Education has been allocated R38.2 billion for the 2026/27 financial year.
The allocation includes:
• R32.7 billion for conditional grants
• R11 billion for the National School Nutrition Programme
• R16 billion for the Education Infrastructure Grant
• R4.6 billion for the Early Childhood Development Grant
Gwarube reaffirmed government’s commitment to improving literacy and numeracy, strengthening school infrastructure, protecting learners, supporting educators, and modernising education governance.
“We must build strong foundations for strong futures. The future of South Africa depends on the quality of education we provide to every child today,” the Minister concluded.
