President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed profound condolences following a heartbreaking incident that claimed the lives of 12 children on their way to school on Monday.

Ramaphosa stated that ideally and under normal circumstances, children are not meant to be buried by their parents; rather, children, once they are old enough, are the ones who should bury their parents.

Ramaphosa was speaking during his keynote address at the three-day 2026 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, held at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Wednesday.

He further revealed that to curb more deaths, he has tasked the ministers of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, and Transport, Barbara Creecy, and other relevant stakeholders to look into ways of preventing further loss of life.

This comes as Monday’s devastation has prompted a call for urgent action towards ensuring safer educational transport in the country.

“We need to act now, and we need to act together to ensure that scholar transport is safe and reliable, and accept that young lives are put at risk as they seek the growth and enrichment that education provides,” he urged.

Furthermore, Ramaphosa raised concerns about the state of education in South Africa, citing alarming statistics regarding children’s literacy and numeracy comprehension.

He highlighted the critical necessity for learners to grasp the meaning behind what they read, not just in a classroom setting but in real-world situations.

“During my recent visit to the OR Tambo International Airport, I interacted with learners and asked them a few questions. I also asked, ‘do you know the population of your own province or country?'” he asked rhetorically, driving home the importance of understanding numerical data beyond the confines of traditional education.

“You can’t manage what you cannot count,” he added, urging educators to widen their teaching scope.

Despite the darkness of recent events, Ramaphosa took the opportunity to commend the current Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, for achieving a historic milestone with the recent National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.

She congratulated the minister on her hard work and dedication, which has resulted in a historic win for the education sector following the unprecedented 88.7% NSC pass rate, which has shattered previous pass records.

“Last year, 88% of learners attained the NSC. Even more encouraging is that over the past decade, the education sector has doubled the number of learners qualifying for admission to Bachelor’s studies. This is a silent revolution, which shows that we have entered what is referred to as the holy grey,” Ramaphosa proclaimed, noting that over 20,000 learners from impoverished households have succeeded in their educational pursuits.

In her address on Tuesday, Minister Gwarube stressed the importance of early childhood development (ECD) across the board, efforts to strengthen literacy and numeracy across all schooling phases, with particular emphasis on the foundation phase (grades R to 3), and improvements in access to and quality of inclusive education.

She revealed that part of the three-day gathering is aimed at committing government and private partnership efforts to tackling some of the issues.

“Every child deserves a classroom where they feel protected, supported, and ready to learn. With zero tolerance for violence and abuse, comprehensive school-based health and nutrition programmes, mental health and psychosocial support for learners and educators, and inclusive environments where every child, including those with disabilities, feels valued and secure,” the minister said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

Source link