Simon Nare | March 3, 2025
President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes the efforts of the Department of Basic Education to strengthen the technical and professional pathways for high school students.
Written in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the technical and professional pathways are solid paths to employment and entrepreneurship.
The president said there is a lot to do to improve the education system, and that the government has been working on the issue since the dawn of democracy over the past 30 years.
He said one of the detrimental effects of Bantu education in the apartheid regime was the intentional neglect of black children, which was revealed in a study published in 1992.
“We have spent the last 30 years trying to amend this. This effort has received greater driving force due to the passage of the Basic Education Act Amendment Act, which is a pre-grade R, Grade 1 reception and forced.
“Children who participate in quality Primary programs tend to have a larger vocabulary, have greater numbers awareness, improve perceptual skills, improve social skills, and improve curiosity,” he said.
The president said quality early childhood development (ECD) promoted social equality, and children from poor families benefited most from access to ECD.
“As the learning journey progresses, high-quality ECDs are also linked to improved transitions to high school, lower repetition and dropout rates, and improved overall academic achievement,” he writes.
The president said these were some of the issues discussed in Recotra, the basic education sector. It also touched on the best ways to reorganize existing educational curricula to enhance basic learning.
Ramaphosa said it is widely recognized that investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education is key to economic growth, job creation, productivity and economic competition.
“Education like this prepares young people for the diverse occupations that are most needed in a growing economy,” he said.
He noted last year that the 2024 class recorded an 87% pass rate. This was a welcome sign that efforts to transform the education system were paying off.
However, he writes that too many learners dropped out of school before writing the matrix, others struggled to get a good mark.
“Disclaimer – the views and opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author and are not necessarily those of the Bee Room.”
