Latest news with #DepartmentofBasicEducation
News24
10 hours ago
- General
- News24
False SA school calendar goes viral – from a known fake news website
A viral article and subsequent post claiming that South Africa's Department of Basic Education has 'revamped' the 2025 school calendar is false. The department has confirmed the post is fake and urged the public to verify information through official government channels. The fabricated article failed multiple generative AI tests. It claims that new term dates have been introduced, and that 'South African students rejoice' as a result. It uses a stock image, originally posted on the photography website Alamy in 2015, to depict overcrowding in rural classrooms, which has appeared in dozens of legitimate education articles. Official response: the calendar is unchanged In a public statement, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) said: 'We have become aware of an online article claiming that the school calendar for 2025 has been changed. This is fake news. The annual school calendar is set in advance and gazetted by the national Minister of Basic Education.' The DBE confirmed that the school calendars for 2025, 2026 and 2027 are available on its official website at The official 2025 calendar, published in the Government Gazette, was confirmed in 2023. It outlines the following term dates: Second viral hoax from the same website The article is the second fake story from the same website to gain traction this month - again forcing a government department to step in. Earlier this week, News24 debunked the same site's false claim that South Africa was facing '14 hours of daily load shedding". These articles are also replicated across copycat websites, which follow the same formula to publish unverified content about schooling, grants, and public sector jobs - hoping one will break through into public discourse. In the context of AI-populated websites, many articles are obviously fake. However, when shared via WhatsApp and social media without obvious giveaways, such as poor spelling or irrelevant images, many users repost them without pausing to verify the facts. The danger behind the shares The site's apparent goal is to generate traffic for ad revenue, rather than undermine government operations. But the impact is far-reaching. The Department of Basic Education notes that school calendars are critical planning tools for teachers, learners, and families. Disinformation about term dates disrupts planning, causes confusion, and undermines trust in official communication channels. Any change to the national school calendar would require a formal notice signed by the minister and published in the Government Gazette. The Department of Basic Education advises the public to verify school calendars and related information via:
The Citizen
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
DBE slams fake news about 2025 school calendar
The department urged the public to ignore reports that the school calendar has changed The DBE announcement of new school calendar fake news. Picture: X/@UmalusiSA The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has shut down false claims circulating online about changes to the 2025 school calendar. Rise UP on Monday reported that the education department had released new dates and term breaks for the remainder of the school year. 'This revamped school calendar is designed to optimise learning periods and ensure sufficient rest, reflecting the department's commitment to improving educational outcomes in the region,' it said. It further stated that the decision was to 'evenly distribute' the school terms. However, the department denied the claims and reassured parents, teachers, and pupils that the current school calendar for 2025 remains unchanged. 'Be informed that the school calendar for the academic year 2025 has not changed,' the department said. ALSO READ: No party favourites: Minister defends appointment of Mantashe's son to Seta board 'The department has not made any announcement regarding the school calendar for 2025 whatsoever! Beware of scams!' it warned. ALSO READ: 'Looting using matric papers': Why did NW printing job price jump by around R100m? School calendar Here's a comprehensive overview of the key dates on the 2025 school calendar to help parents stay ahead of the game. Term 1: Schools start: 15 January 2025; Schools close: 28 March 2025; Public holidays: New Year's Day (1 January 2025), Human Rights Day (21 March 2025); and School holidays: 29 March to 7 April 2025. Second term: Schools start: 8 April 2025; Schools close: 27 June 2025; Public holidays: Good Friday (18 April 2025), Family Day (21 April 2025), Freedom Day (27 April 2025), Workers' Day (1 May 2025), Youth Day (16 June 2025). Special school holidays: 29 April to 2 May 2025; and School holidays: 18 June to 8 July 2025. Third term: School start: 22 July 2025; School closes: 3 October 2025; Public holidays: National Women's Day (9 August 2025), Heritage Day (24 September 2025); and School holidays: 6 to 10 October 2025. Fourth term: School start: 13 October 2025; School closes: 10 December 2025; Administration days: 11 to 12 December 2025; and Public holidays: Day of Reconciliation (16 December 2025), Christmas Day (25 December 2025), Day of Goodwill (26 December 2025). NOW READ: Nearly 3% of school staff in South Africa flagged for criminal activity — data reveals
Daily Maverick
28-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Maverick
SA children say they really like to read, despite dismal reading test results
A deep dive into the data behind the poor scores of South Africa's primary school learns in reading assessments – Part 2 Grade 3 is an interesting time to test children for reading ability in South Africa. Children are taught in one of the 11 official languages (ostensibly their home language) in their first years of school, known as the foundation phase, from Grade R to Grade 3. From Grade 4, the 'language of learning and teaching', or language of instruction, becomes predominantly English or Afrikaans, although there are moves to change this and extend home-language instruction. Research shows that there are benefits in teaching young children foundational reading skills in their home language, even if the results of the latest surveys don't appear to hold that up. In the past five years, two surveys have found that our Grade 3s and Grade 4s can't read for meaning. The first, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA's) 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) tested Grade 4s and involved children in 57 countries. The second, a local survey called the South African Systemic Evaluation (SASE), involved 56,650 learners from 1,688 schools. It looked at the reading and mathematics abilities of Grade 3, 6 and 9 learners across the country. The Department of Basic Education released the results of the SASE only in December 2024. In both surveys, the children who were tested in Afrikaans and English scored higher than the children who wrote the test in the other nine languages. In Pirls, English and Afrikaans were the only two languages where the average scores were relatively close to 400, the minimum required to show an ability to read for meaning in easy texts. In the SASE, the reading skills and knowledge learners are expected to be proficient at are divided into four performance levels. The first level, named 'emerging', is where learners are just beginning to develop the skills required for grade 3-level reading. The next level up, known as 'evolving', is where learners are beginning to construct and adapt what they have learnt. The third level, called 'enhancing', is where learners demonstrate that they actually have the required skills, are able to apply those skills and show they are moving towards independent learning. At the highest, 'extending' level, learners show an advanced understanding of the knowledge and skills required, apply their knowledge in creative ways and can learn independently. Learners need to have 'enhancing'-level skills to meet the requirements of Grade 3. Only one in five of the Grade 3s who took part achieved that level. Mother tongue Seventy-five percent of the Grade 3s in South Africa's public schools are taught in their home language, according to the Department of Basic Education. Professor Abdeljalil Akkari, an expert in education at the University of Geneva, argues that 'pre-primary is the educational sector which has the greatest need to be based on local pedagogy, traditions and cultures'. South Africa was one of the few countries that ran the Pirls test in multiple languages. While in theory, students testing in their home language rather than only English should equalise the assessment playing field, results showed that this was not in fact the case. Researchers have pointed out some testing issues with Pirls, such as how translating a European test into African languages may create more issues than it solves. An example given by researchers at the University of Pretoria is how the isiZulu version of the Pirls test needed to use foreign words in translations such as 'i-Hammerhead shark'. They show that due to translations, the isiZulu and English texts used in Pirls aren't equivalent, resulting in a harder test for the isiZulu schools compared with the English schools. Language of instruction If you look in more detail at the data on the language of instruction at schools, about a third of South Africa's Grade 3s are actually taught in English, even though English is the home language of fewer than 10% of them. Not surprisingly, 98% of the Grade 3s whose home language is English are taught in English at school; 92% of Afrikaans-speaking children are taught in Afrikaans. The picture is different for African language speakers. Children whose home language is isiNdebele are the least likely to be taught in their home language at 50%, according to DBE data. Sesotho speakers fare marginally better at 52%. More than 70% of the children who speak isiXhosa, Siswati, Setswana, Sepedi and Tshivenda were taught in their home language, as were two-thirds of children who speak Xitsonga and isiZulu. Provincial differences Provincial reading scores from the SASE showed that in the Western Cape, close to half the Grade 3s could read up to the required standard. In Gauteng, that dropped to 28% and in all the other provinces, fewer than 20% of the learners had Grade 3-level reading skills. Six languages are of particular concern because more than 40% of Grade 3 learners managed to achieve only the most basic performance level in their reading skills in the reading assessments. They are Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, isiNdebele, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Those languages are predominantly spoken in the four provinces that scored the lowest in the SASE reading assessment: the Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo, according to Nwabisa Makaluza, a researcher at Stellenbosch University, who contributed an advisory note for the Reading Panel 2025 Background Report. In these provinces, a high percentage of Grade 3 learners are taught in their home language. For example, 87% in the Northern Cape, 72% in Mpumalanga, 79% in North West and 92% in Limpopo. In comparison, in Gauteng, only two in every five learners (43%) are taught in their home language. Gauteng is the most linguistically diverse province. No home language is truly dominant. The most commonly spoken language is isiZulu, but only one in four Grade 3s speak isiZulu at home. More than 20,000 Grade 3 learners speak Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi and English at home, more than 10,000 speak Xitsonga, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. This diversity makes teaching in all the home languages a complicated affair, requiring teachers trained to teach foundation phase learners in multiple languages. Despite its linguistic diversity, and the relatively low proportion of learners taught in their home language, Gauteng's Grade 3 learners did better in SASE reading tests than all but those in the Western Cape. The standard of education, quality of teaching and availability of resources in the public schools may also play a part in the poor reading assessment results of children. Not enough African language teachers South Africa's universities are not producing enough teachers to meet the demand for foundation phase teachers who can teach in African languages, according to a Department of Basic Education report by education economist Martin Gustafsson. The most recently available data, which was for 2018, shows the languages with the biggest undersupply of teachers are Sepedi, isiXhosa and Setswana. Only three languages are producing enough teachers for the foundation phase: Tshivenda, Siswati and isiNdebele. 'Some African languages are producing as little as 20% of the required number of language of learning and teaching-specific teachers,' according to the report. The language in which children are taught to read is just one factor. There are historical factors, such as the channelling of resources during apartheid to white schools where English and Afrikaans were the languages of instruction. Thirty years later, many of those schools remain better resourced. Access to learning material 'Children learn better and are more likely to pursue their subsequent studies when they have begun their schooling in a language that they use and understand,' says Professor Abdeljalil Akkari. South Africa's education policy states that the language of learning and teaching must be the learner's 'home language', but it is the school that chooses which language is to be regarded as the home language for their learners, so in many cases the official home language is not actually their mother tongue, says Sinethemba Mthimkhulu and other Pretoria University researchers. In addition, educational resources are primarily designed for English-speaking learners. The actual language profile of the country is not at all reflected in textbook publications. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries have incorporated digital learning into their schooling. The 2024 SA Book Publishing Survey shows that 1,130 new digital textbooks were published in English, more than 600 in Afrikaans and fewer than 300 were published in all the other South African languages combined. More worrying is the lack of new print textbooks being published in Sepedi, Setswana, SiSwati, Sesotho, isiNdebele, Xitsonga and Tshivenda. It's not only textbooks, other reading materials also show an English and Afrikaans dominance in a country where two in five people speak isiZulu and isiXhosa. The National Reading Baromete r, through the National Reading Survey, found that access to books in home languages is still a huge problem in South Africa. The survey found that 72% of parents who read with their young children would prefer to read in an African language. It also found that schools are the most important source of reading materials in South African households. In many cases (40%), the books that adults read with their children at home are school textbooks and 33% are fiction books. Looking at all books in general, fewer than 10% of book sales are for African language books, according to data from the latest South African Book Publishing Industry Survey. In the period from 2021-2024, fewer than 1% of book sales in South Africa were isiNdebele or siSwati books, and Sepedi and Sesotho publications each accounted for only 1%. isiZulu publications account for just 3% of these book sales and, although English is the home language of fewer than 10% of the population, English books made up 80% of the total book revenue, the book publishing industry survey shows. Two out of three households (63%) do not have any fiction or nonfiction books at all (this excludes bibles, magazines, textbooks etc). Most speakers of Xitsonga, isiNdebele and Tshivenda don't have a single book in their language at home, and more than 40% of Setswana and Sesotho speakers don't have any books in theirs, according to the 2023 National Reading Survey findings. Let the children read Despite the immense problems with reading, inequality and lack of resources, these reading surveys also reveal a shining light of hope, which is that South Africa's children actually like reading. Along with the Pirls reading test were various surveys, for the parents, school teachers and principals, as well as the children themselves. In the children's questionnaire, one of the questions asked whether they enjoyed reading. More than 70% of South Africa's children enthusiastically said they enjoyed reading, the 11th highest percentage of the 57 countries participating in the survey. In an 'enjoyment of reading' index, which encompassed a range of questions, Pirls found that 90% of the South African children like reading to some extent, and 50% of those like reading 'very much'. DM
Daily Maverick
15-05-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
Go figure — alarming number of SA schools no longer offer maths as a subject
Mathematics is no longer taught at more than 450 South African public schools, raising alarm among education experts, unions and civil society. A total of 464 public schools across South Africa do not offer learners the option of studying mathematics. This was revealed in response to a parliamentary question by EFF MP Mandla Shikwambana to the minister of basic education, Siviwe Gwarube. The provincial breakdown of public schools that do not teach mathematics is: KwaZulu-Natal — 135 schools; Eastern Cape — 84 schools; Limpopo — 78 schools; Western Cape — 61 schools; Gauteng — 31 schools; North West — 31 schools; Northern Cape — 19 schools; Free State — 14 schools; and Mpumalanga — 11 schools. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) says there are several reasons why schools do not offer mathematics. One significant factor is linked to learner subject selection. As learners in Grade 10 choose their subject streams based on their interests and potential career paths, schools may find that the demand for core mathematics is not sufficient. 'While Mathematics remains a high-priority subject, schools — particularly smaller ones — may not have sufficient resources or demand to offer both Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy,' read the parliamentary reply. Beyond demand driven by learner choice, schools also face operational and resource-based challenges. According to the DBE, even if some learners are interested, there might be limited enrolment in the mathematics stream, which can make it unviable to run a full class. There is also a shortage of qualified mathematics teachers, while budgetary and timetabling constraints can also limit the subjects a school offers. Targeted interventions The department said it was actively promoting the offering of mathematics in all schools and had several interventions to address the situation, including: Regular monthly engagement with provincial education departments to share best practices and address challenges; Subject advocacy to encourage schools and learners to choose mathematics over mathematical literacy, where appropriate; Supporting provinces to strengthen teacher capacity and learner performance; and Ongoing professional development focusing on improving teaching methodology to enhance learner understanding and retention in mathematics. Specific strategic interventions have also been put in place by the minister of basic education and the DBE to improve learner participation and performance in mathematics. These include the Mathematics, Science and Technology Conditional Grant, which supports teaching, learning and resourcing in specified secondary and primary schools by providing equipment, teacher training and learner support. The department is also reviewing a trilateral cooperation framework with other departments to consolidate efforts and maximise the impact of aligned mathematics priorities, particularly in teacher development. Other initiatives include: Placing new impetus on the Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Focus Schools Programme for specialised learning environments; Rolling out a mother tongue-based bilingual education initiative to overcome language barriers; Prioritising early childhood development and Foundation Phase education as the cornerstone of future mathematics success; Reviewing post-provisioning norms to ensure smaller Foundation Phase class sizes and prioritisation of numeracy posts; Updating the National Catalogue of Learning and Teaching Support Materials; and Protecting teaching and learning time through focuses such as time on task, teacher preparedness and textbooks. Deepening inequality Research shows that mathematics promotes logical reasoning, analytical thinking and mental discipline, helping learners develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are applicable beyond the classroom. Early mathematics education helps children develop foundational skills such as pattern recognition, spatial awareness and logical reasoning, which are crucial for overall cognitive development and later academic success. Furthermore, mathematics opens access to higher education opportunities and Stem careers, which are increasingly important in a technology-driven world. The Department of Basic Education director-general, Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, said during the technical briefing ahead of the 2024 National Senior Certificate results in January, that the department was concerned about BSM subjects – business studies, accounting and economics. The department was equally concerned about the enrolment in mathematics, which saw a decline of 12,000, the highest in recent years. Mweli highlighted that these trends could have dire implications for South Africa's academic landscape and economic future. He added that President Cyril Ramaphosa had given the department a clear instruction to find ways to improve enrolment in technical subjects and mathematics. Gwarube echoed similar sentiments, warning of a spike in learners who progress through the basic education system without mastering foundational skills, particularly in literacy and numeracy. She said this hindered learners' abilities to succeed in higher grades, diminishing their prospects of accessing further education and employment opportunities. 'This trend manifests itself in the perennial decrease of enrolment in subjects such as physical sciences, mathematics, accounting and economics, which are all subjects that are critical for a nation's ability to advance in science, innovation and economic development,' she said. The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) said the high number of schools not teaching mathematics did not bode well for the education system. Naptosa spokesperson Basil Manuel said schools not teaching mathematics would hinder the progress of South Africa's education system, and the department needed to restore mathematics to the curricula of these schools. The Public Servants Association (PSA) said schools that didn't teach mathematics were predominantly in underprivileged communities, exacerbating inequalities in the education system. 'These learners would have limited options and study courses that are not needed by the market, thus condemning them to perpetual unemployment and poverty. This alarming development highlights a severe crisis in the education system that demands urgent attention and action,' said the PSA. When teachers struggle, learners struggle Khula Education is a non-profit organisation that works in partnership with rural schools and underserved communities in KwaZulu-Natal. Each year, the organisation supports more than 6,450 children and young people, along with more than 300 teachers in 22 rural schools. Khula provides high-quality early childhood education through its preschools, supplementary teaching in maths and English at primary and secondary levels, and ongoing professional development for teachers. In addition, the organisation offers tailored support for young people to help them prepare for and access further education and meaningful employment. Christopher Magunda, the head of Khula's mathematics department, said that teacher confidence was often undermined by systemic issues and a lack of content knowledge, which have a negative impact on learner confidence and career aspirations. 'From my experience, I've seen that once teachers lack confidence, it filters on to the learners, and then learners believe that maths is difficult. Teacher confidence is the main culprit when it comes to students dropping maths,' he said. 'Besides deflating their personal confidence, it even affects their aspirations in life. So, mathematics is key. Regardless of which subjects you're talking about or which career paths you want to follow, you require maths,' he said. Magunda said that if schools stopped teaching mathematics, the skills shortage would persist. 'If we look at the current situation in South Africa, there is always a cry of a lack of skills; it doesn't seem like we are working towards alleviating that problem in the near future. It means that the problem of skills shortage is going to persist unless some kind of intervention is done,' he said. One of the key interventions is teacher support. 'In the short term, we can talk about teacher support, because these newly appointed teachers are just thrown into the deep end. They are put into the classrooms and they are unequipped with any tools that they need. 'You'd find sometimes there are no subject advisers who are supposed to support the teachers in the classroom, so at the end of the day, the teachers are just doing what they think is the correct thing to do,' he said. DM
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Urgent talks to resolve KwaZulu-Natal Education Department's financial crisis
There is ongoing engagement between the Department of Basic Education and the KZN Department of Education about the provincial department's financial woes. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives The Department of Basic Education has revealed that high-level engagements are taking place to address the crippling financial problems that have brought the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (DoE) to the brink of financial collapse. The office of the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, stated that there has been ongoing communication with the province, and discussions are underway to find workable solutions amid serious challenges. The minister's office addressed the issue following speculation and calls for the national government to intervene and stabilise the provincial department. The DA in the province and teacher unions have claimed that the department has collapsed financially. Recently, the DA in KwaZulu-Natal warned that the provincial DoE is spiralling into financial collapse, prompting urgent calls for intervention and possible administration under Section 18 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). When asked whether the minister intended to intervene, Lukhanyo Vangqa, the minister's spokesperson, said any decision to formally intervene in a province must be taken by the National Executive in accordance with the Constitution. No decision for the national government to undertake a formal intervention in respect of the KZN Provincial Government has been made by the National Executive to date. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He, however, said high-level engagements are ongoing to find a workable solution. 'Whatever decision the Minister of Basic Education makes regarding KZN must and will be in the best interests of all learners and educators in the province. The minister is still engaging with the province and will continue to consult with the Minister of Finance where necessary and appropriate in this regard.' 'The minister wishes to emphasise that the basic education sector as a whole is under serious financial strain. Last year, the minister mentioned that without additional funding, three provincial education departments are at risk of being unable to fund their budgets by 2026/2027, and those risks are now starting to materialise.' 'To resolve the financial constraints faced by KZN and other provinces, the minister believes that the government must adequately fund basic education as a top priority. Provinces need to do more to ensure that their existing education budgets are managed and spent effectively and efficiently,' he said. Sakhile Mngadi, the DA spokesperson on education in KZN, stated that the DoE's finances have been crippled by ballooning cost of employees (CoE) expenditure, which consumed a staggering 92% of its R62.99 billion budget for 2024/25. He noted that despite repeated warnings, the wage bill continues to rise unsustainably, leaving only 8% of the total budget for critical service delivery items, including infrastructure, learner support materials, and school meals. 'The DA views the situation as a full-blown constitutional and humanitarian crisis. The DoE has overcommitted its financial obligations, carrying over billions of rand in accruals from the 2024/25 financial year without lawful budgetary provision. These liabilities are now deferred to the 2025/26 budget, which is yet to be debated or approved by the KZN Legislature.' 'KZN's DoE has made financial promises it cannot legally fulfil. This is a flagrant violation of the PFMA. To make matters worse, the department has continued to mislead both the portfolio committee and the public. 'Repeated reassurances that service providers and personnel would be paid on time have proved to be false. Whether due to incompetence or deliberate deception, this is unacceptable,' he concluded. The DoE's spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi, confirmed the engagements and said these have been initiated by MEC Sipho Hlomuka. THE MERCURY
