Following the conclusion of the last couple of provincial indabas in the Western and Eastern Cape last week, Department of Basic Education (DBE) Minister Siviwe Gwarube and Deputy Minister Dr Reginah Mhaule will host the G20 National Education Indaba on Monday, 25 August 2025.

Held under the theme: “Taking the G20 to the People – A National Indaba for Advancing Quality Foundational Learning through ECCE and Education Professional Development,” the national indaba is intended to ensure participation in the G20 is felt at all spheres of the sector.

After having traversed all nine provinces in the country, the indaba will see the sector gather to deliberate on crucial provincial insights ahead of the Ministerial Meeting of the Education Working Group in October 2025.

The Indaba is set to unpack two key priorities of the G20 Education Working Group:

• Quality foundational learning – the role of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in improving foundational learning outcomes
• Education and professional development for a changing world – preparing teachers for classrooms shaped by technology, climate change, and global mobility

Gwarube, who spoke at the penultimate Indaba in Cape Town, said that the purpose of the Indabas was to connect with stakeholders on the ground and also find out the specificity of the challenges faced.

“I’ve just really been talking to provinces about the opportunity this presents to us in talking about key things that matter to us, such as our challenges. These are not just things that we are simply good at, but also our challenges in the system. It’s just been about talking to provinces about the priorities that we’ve settled on as a sector, and also seeing provinces really own and co-own the G20. It’s important,” Gwarube said.

“South Africa is a vast and hugely diverse country. It would be incredibly irresponsible, I think, for a government to host something like this, the very first of its kind, not only in South Africa, but also on the continent, and not really make people feel that they are a part of it.”

Gwarube said that Ministerial Meetings are very limited in who can attend, but the provincial indabas were a way to incorporate directors of departments that work with ECD, so that you can hear from stakeholders and officials.

“[It helps them hear] what is the vision going forward? Even after the leaders’ summit in November, what is the vision going forward as we forge ahead in our education sector? It’s been incredibly valuable for me because it’s now the second time that I’m actually doing provincial tours.

“I did it when I first got appointed, but now just being on the ground is hugely valuable because it also gives me insights on how people are interpreting policy shifts and the like,” Gwarube said.

Gwarube also touted the department’s new Bana Pele registration drive for ECD programmes, where they are assisting practitioners to get registered.

“Whether you are in informal settlements, wherever you are, we want to bring that service to you, and we’ll be doing that. We’ll be coming to the Western Cape for three days. We are aware that there’s a whole lot of, you know, a lot of practitioners and ECD centres that the city, for instance, is aware of that are not registered.

“So, a message to the practitioners to say we want to bring this government service to you, but also to parents to say, and we are building this plane as it is flying,” Gwarube said.

“We are injecting quality in our ECD centres, but it is important that your children go to some kind of early child development centre so that they cannot just be taken care of, but then they can have access to a nutritious meal, and they can really start with some educational content.”

The minister also stressed that parents and communities should do their part to support matric learners ahead of the forthcoming exam season, with the prelim exams coming up in September.

“We always ask for support by asking for a lessening of industrial strike action, because these are disruptions that prevent children from being able to go to school and being able to go and write their exams.

“And for parents to please give them space to be able to study. This is a very stressful time for them.”

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za

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