Programme Director,
Your excellencies Ambassadors to the Republic and members of the diplomatic corps,
Heads of international and multilateral organizations represented here today,
Director General,
Leaders from Corporate South Africa,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentleman,
Good morning,

It is a pleasure to be here this morning and to share this space with individuals and organizations committed to investing in the future of South Africa and, indeed, the future of Africa.

I am filled with energy and beaming with hope about the potential that could come from this room.

As we gather here today like this, let us recognize the profound responsibility and tremendous potential before us. Our continent is home to the youngest population on the planet—a demographic profile that holds unprecedented promise.

With over 60% of Africa’s population under the age of 25, we stand on the cusp of a youth-driven growth wave that could fuel our economies and contribute to global prosperity.

It is young people that have the potential to be innovators, to be the productivity engines of tomorrow, and It is this demographic that forms the majority on the Continent. They represent Africa's future, as a driver of global progress.

Today’s young Africans are already demonstrating remarkable resilience and adaptability.

They are technologically savvy, innovative, and highly motivated, and they bring energy, optimism, and creative problem-solving to every sector they touch.

Even when stats show that ours is a continent with the lowest levels of connectivity, young people are leveraging digital technology, they are leading the thinking on renewable energy out of sheer necessity of energy poverty, and are leading social entrepreneurship to bridge the gap in what economists refer to as the bottom of the pyramid consumer market.

Young Africans are pushing boundaries and setting trends.

This youth demographic could be Africa’s most valuable resource, with the potential to make the continent a global hub for innovation, for industry, and global economic growth.

Yet, the realization of this immense potential depends on one fundamental factor: Education.

If we are to transform our continent’s demographic advantage into a true growth engine, we must ensure that Africa’s young people are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and abilities they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving global economy.

This is both our challenge and our opportunity. Africa’s youth have the potential to form the largest working-age population in the world by the year 2063, but that will benefit the continent only if they are adequately educated and skilled to meet the demands of tomorrow’s industries.

GNU context:

South Africa entered a new era in our young democracy on the 29th of May. The voters ushered in a Government of National Unity.

This may have caused anxieties among others but also hope to many South Africans.

In my view, it presented an opportunity for our democracy to mature - move beyond party political laargers.

To find the things we agree on as a nation.

Education is one of those issues that we can agree is important regardless of your own political inclinations.

That realisation makes my job easier and more difficult in equal measure.

Every single South African has a vested interest in the quality of our education sector.

The good news is that since the dawn of democracy, much has been done to provide access to basic education.

In fact, among our peers on the continent, our 98% access coverage is incredibly impressive.

However, 30 years later, we now need to shift our focus to quality education.

We are nowhere near where we should be on international benchmarking tests.

A popular stat is about the 80% of learners who were tested (as a sample) who cannot read for meaning in any language.

While this was a small sample -it is still a grave concern.

If we do not fix literacy – which is reading, writing and counting – the DBE had failed on its core function.

This is why every single priority in the 7th administration speaks to this goal.

We must make sure – through early child learning – we can achieve the goal of reading for meaning by grade 4.

Government has a tendency to focus only on the quality of outcomes like the matric pass rate – but not on the foundations of learning.

I endeavour to reorientate this planning and thinking. Let us get the basics right and we will achieve a great deal in the education sector.

Education as the Foundation of Future Prosperity

Quality education is the foundation upon which we can build a prosperous future. It is the tool that will empower our young people to innovate, to lead, and to contribute meaningfully to their communities and economies.

However, to achieve this, our education systems must be strong, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of a modern workforce.

We need to provide not only foundational literacy and numeracy but also the skills necessary for the jobs and challenges of the 21st century—digital literacy, critical thinking, adaptability, and creativity.

But education alone is not enough. We need an education system that is fully aligned with the economic needs of the continent.

This means that the private sector has a vital role to play, both as an investor in education and as a partner in curriculum development, training, and skills-building programs.

The private sector has a deep understanding of the skills needed to drive productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth.

This partnership between the education sector and industry can create a seamless pipeline from learning to employment, where young people not only receive quality education but also develop skills that make them employable, productive, and ready to lead.

The Private Sector’s Role in Transforming Education

The private sector has the resources, expertise, and capacity to make an enormous impact on the education landscape. Today, we are seeing more private sector entities involved in education initiatives—investing in infrastructure, providing technology, supporting teacher training, and even partnering with educational institutions to design relevant, future-oriented curricula.

This support is crucial, especially in resource-constrained settings, where government funding alone may not suffice to meet the educational needs of our growing population.

Theories of educational development and industrial growth have long highlighted the importance of a skilled workforce in driving economic expansion.

One such theory, known as the "human capital theory," emphasizes the value of investing in education as a means to enhance productivity.

By ensuring that individuals are well-trained and educated, we can increase their economic value and thereby improve the overall productivity of our economy.

The link between education and industrial development is clear: without a skilled, educated workforce, industry cannot thrive, and without thriving industry, the economy cannot grow.

Furthermore, the private sector’s involvement can ensure that education systems are aligned with labour market demands. The "matching theory" in economics speaks to the importance of aligning skills with job requirements to maximize economic output and reduce unemployment.

When we bring the private sector into our educational ecosystem, we ensure that the skills being taught in schools are the skills that are needed in workplaces.

This alignment not only benefits young people, who become more employable but also strengthens industries that depend on a skilled workforce to remain competitive.

A Call for Step-Change Investment in Education

Today, I want to call on our private sector partners to consider taking their involvement in the education sector to the next level.

As South Africa’s 7th Administration in the Government of National Unity, we are fully committed to improving education outcomes across the country.

We recognize that this cannot be achieved by government alone. The private sector has a significant role to play, and we are here to facilitate, support, and collaborate with you in ways that make the greatest impact.

A step-change investment in education means more than just financial support—it means active participation.

We invite our private sector partners to work closely with the Department of Basic Education to co-create programs that build the skills needed for a competitive and productive economy.

We need your input, your insights, and your innovation to help shape our education system in a way that prepares learners for real-world challenges and opportunities.

Priorities for the 7th Administration

As we embark on this new chapter in education, the 7th Administration has identified several key priorities. The first is to improve access to and strengthen the quality of Early Childhood Development.

A strong foundation is important for literacy and numeracy. Early Childhood Development, sets the stage for lifelong learning and personal development.

We want every child in South Africa to leave our ECDs with a solid foundation in reading and counting.

The second priority is to improve literacy and numeracy across all phases of schooling. We must enhance digital literacy and improve participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. These are the skills that will drive the industries of tomorrow, and we must prepare our learners to compete in a digital and technology-driven world.

Our third priority is special education. We want to expand the curriculum and broaden our offering in schools to allow children with special learning needs to be able to gain an education and skills that would allow them to live a dignified adult life.

We recognize that not every young person will follow a traditional academic path, and we are committed to providing alternative pathways that lead to meaningful employment. The 3 streams model offers a direct route into skilled work, and by partnering with industries, we can ensure that these programs remain relevant and aligned with market needs.

Our Fourth priority is accelerated teacher development. We are going to improve the quality of teacher professional development and school management team development in order to strengthen the quality of principals who lead our schools.

Our teachers and school principals are operating in a rapidly changing world that in characterized by increasing levels of complexity, volatility, uncertainty. We must offer training that improves their ability to cope with volatility, to understand complexity and to operate with uncertainty. This requires us to develop teachers that are resilient, agile and innovative.

Our 5th and final priority is Safety in schools. Learners need safe, conducive environments where they can focus on their studies without interruption. This includes basic facilities such as dignified flushing toilets, but also learning environments free from crime, extortion rackets, contaminated food products and other dangerous chemical.

I am certain that colleagues in the room would have read about the high number of learners who have fallen ill and the children from Naledi who tragically lost their lives due to food bought from local spaza shops and consumed on school premises.

Last week Wednesday I began a process to ban the dangerous chemical known as organophosphate from all schools in South Africa. This is a proactive measure to prevent the risk of this chemical ever being used as a pesticide in any of our schools.

We know that many private sector organizations are already contributing in the area of school safety and infrastructure. I am however going to plead with corporates to accelerate your contribution in improving school safety as the extortion rackets are increasing interfering with teaching and learning in this country.

We would like to appeal to you to donate motion detectors to prevent break-ins, to donate patrol hours to ensure security visibility when learners walk to school and back, to sponsor a security guard to your local school.

The main purpose of today’s breakfast is to foster a coordinated and structured approach for business involvement in the education sector, ensuring that the resources and investments from our private sector partners align closely with the priorities we have outlined.

I will be upfront colleagues and say that it is not helpful to have private sector partners who come to us to offer us resources with pre-determined programmes that do not align with our key priorities. This leads to education sector projects that are disjointed and without efficacy.

By focusing on identified areas and coalescing around these, we can maximize the impact and efficacy of every contribution, whether it’s funding, expertise, or support services from the private sector.

Now that I have outlined our priorities, it’s essential that we work together, coordinate our efforts to effectively resource these critical areas and drive tangible improvements in education outcomes across the country

Partnering for a Brighter Future

This morning, as we discuss our collective role in shaping the future of education in South Africa, I want to emphasize that this is not a task for government alone, nor for the private sector in isolation. It is a shared responsibility, and by working together, we can make a transformative impact on the next 20-30 years of this country and its people.

The stakes could not be higher, but neither could the rewards. An educated, skilled, and empowered youth population is the cornerstone of any thriving society, and together, we can make that vision a reality.

To all our stakeholders, thank you for the work you have already done to support education in South Africa. Your contributions, whether through funding, mentorship programs, technology partnerships, or curriculum development, are invaluable. Today, I invite you to go further. Let us join hands to create an education system that not only meets the needs of the present but anticipates and prepares for the future.

As the Minister of Basic Education, I am committed to creating the conditions for this partnership to flourish. I pledge that we, as the Department of Basic Education, will be open, we will be responsive, and committed to working with each of you to advance our shared goals.

Collaboratively, let us harness the potential of Africa’s youth, Let us invest in the education they need, and build a foundation for growth that will benefit not just South Africa but the entire continent.

Let us make today the beginning of a renewed commitment to the future of education in South Africa and beyond. Thank you for your presence, your partnership, and your dedication.

Ngiyanga! Baie Dankie! Asante Sana! Nakhensa!