Ministerial report card — Is Siviwe Gwarube up to the task of leading SA’s basic education ministry?

Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube held the attention of the room at the annual ministerial breakfast for the crème de la crème of the Class of 2025, where South Africa’s best-performing matriculants were honoured before the official release of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results.

“In the pursuit of excellence, in the act of giving your best, there is dignity, purpose and yes, happiness,” she said, capturing the learners’ late nights, setbacks and discipline.

She also paid tribute to parents for their sacrifices and thanked teachers for their commitment amid systemic strains.

Later that evening, Gwarube announced a record national pass rate of 88% for the NSC exams. For the first time, the atmosphere wasn’t dampened by “bad news” from struggling regions. Every one of the 75 school districts in the country achieved a pass rate of 80% or higher, creating a sense of national achievement rather than the usual disparity between richer and poorer provinces.

Having held the reins for 18 months, Gwarube has secured visible gains for the Department of Basic Education, most notably the record matric pass rate and successfully launching phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative, which placed 200,000 young people in schools. She has also driven a renewed focus on early childhood development and expanded mother-tongue-based bilingual education to Grade 4 learners in more than 11,000 schools.

However, the reality on the ground remains tough. Despite progress on sani­tation at schools, the public education sector is still dogged by severe infrastructure ­deficits, teacher shortages and deep structural inequality.

Gwarube’s handling of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (Bela Act) has been a delicate balancing act. Rather than full-steam implementation, she has opted for a cautious rollout with extensive guidance for school governing bodies, which has drawn criticism from the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu).

Young but skilled

A communications and policy specialist by training, Gwarube (36) holds a BA degree in law, politics and philosophy from Rhodes University. She began her career in political communication, working first as the spokesperson for former DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko and then as DA spokesperson for health from June 2019 to February 2022. She was the DA’s national spokesperson from November 2020 to August 2022, and deputy chief whip from December 2021 to August 2022.

Despite being members of opposing parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Gwarube and her deputy, Reginah Mhaule of the ANC, seem to have forged a pragmatic and co­­operative working relationship, often presenting a united front at major events. Mhaule, a former teacher, served in the ­previous administration.

Basil Manuel, the executive director of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa), describes the union’s interactions with Gwarube as “affable” and marked by mutual respect and productive dialogue, even amid disagreements.

“We’re polite to one another, we differ and we’ve had reason to differ. We’ve never had a stalemate and it never descends into a point of ugliness,” Manuel said.

Despite anticipated sharp clashes over the Bela Act, these exchanges proved far more collaborative than expected. Manuel credited a collective approach to hashing out differences, particularly regarding the act’s regulations, which are being deliberated.

Far from lacking gravitas as a young minister, Gwarube has proved to be a “relatively quick learner” in Manuel’s estimation. He also dismissed any notion of inexperience undermining her authority, instead highlighting her eloquence and polished public presence.

“Look at the presentation she did at the matric results. It was smooth, it rolled and she got excited at the right moment, and she didn’t mispronounce, etc,” he said.

Manuel drew a pointed contrast with predecessors like Angie Motshekga, who brought authentic classroom experience as a former teacher and university educator, yet endured relentless media critique over her less commanding public persona.

“Now here we have a young lady who’s eloquent and she speaks well, and the people who have eyes will have to find something else to criticise because it can’t be on her presentation,” he said.

Regarding the DA factor, Manuel admitted to being initially wary about the influence of her advisers, and said he anticipated potential friction. However, he has welcomed their notably restrained approach, observing a lack of disruptive overreach that might undermine her authority or collaborative efforts. Manuel commended Gwarube for prioritising foundation phase education, particularly the successful registration of Grade R programmes, which resonates deeply with Naptosa’s long-standing advocacy for early intervention.

What she can and cannot do

He offered a nuanced take on Gwarube’s budgetary navigation amid South Africa’s economic pressures, clarifying her department’s limited sway over provinces, which control the vast majority of the budget for education and are dens of mismanagement.

“The minister has a far smaller department, a far smaller budget than the provinces have. So, it is in the provinces that the real issues lie,” he said.

The national department received a budget of R35-billion, whereas the nine provincial departments collectively received about R290-billion.

Gwarube and her department are responsible for policy development, monitoring, the NSC examinations and the National School Nutrition Programme, while provinces are responsible for hiring teachers, building schools and day-to-day implementation.

In September 2024, Gwarube requested a meeting between the minister of finance and all nine MECs for finance and their education counterparts to find ways to alleviate the pressures facing the education sector.

Sadtu weighs in

Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cembi offered a candid assessment of the evolving relationship with Gwarube, whose appointment it initially fiercely opposed.

“The relationship between the minister and us is both conflictual and cooperative,” she said. Persistent policy delays and implementation failures continued to fuel tensions, she added.

Central to Sadtu’s grievances is Gwarube’s handling of the Bela Act.

“The primary area of disagreement between us is her not implementing policies. We feel that she’s still delaying what needs to be done to operationalise the Bela Act. Some institutions are still refusing to have parallel languages,” said Cembi.

Further frustrations centre on vacancies at the South African Council for Educators that have not been filled for six months.

Cembi attributed recent achievements, such as improved matric results and advancements in early childhood education, to a long-maturing system painstakingly built over decades, rather than any novel initiatives from Gwarube.

“She found a portfolio that is maturing. It is not that she’s putting any new things in; it’s things that were there. Whatever is happening, it’s because of all the work that has been done over the years and the credit should go to teachers,” she said.

Gwarube has brought renewed energy and strategic clarity to her portfolio, yet she cannot single-handedly dismantle decades of systemic dysfunction.

As Joy Maimela, chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, points out, the public school sector is buckling under physical decay and financial pressures. School infrastructure is deteriorating due to chronic underfunding, and the funding model fails to bridge the stark in­equality gap between rural schools and former Model C schools.

In terms of the curriculum, education expert Mary Metcalfe warned that “weak spots” in maths and science remained a threat to progress. She emphasised that true reform required increased investment in the primary years when basic reading and numeracy skills take root.

MINISTERIAL REPORT CARD: 2024-2025

Student: Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube

Date: 14 January 2026

Tenure reviewed: 18 months (inauguration to post-2025 matric results release)

Strategic theme: “The Pivot to Foundation”

1. Strategic vision and leadership

Grade: A-

Mandate: Moving the department from reactive crisis management to long-term strategic reform.

Performance: Gwarube has shifted the narrative from the obsessive focus on Grade 12 results to the unglamorous deep work of improving the foundation phase. Her admission that real reform requires “leadership lining up resources, accountability, trust and data” shows awareness of the education sector’s structural fragility.

2. Early childhood development (ECD) migration and more places in schools

Grade: A (star performer)

Mandate: Consolidate ECD and expand access to it.

Performance: The target to register 10,000 ECD centres in 2025 was ambitious. Exceeding it (12,000 registrations) and bringing the total number of centres to 33,000 is a massive logistical victory. This unlocked subsidies for more than one million children. Establishing the Outcomes-Based Education Fund addresses the historic urban-rural divide. Creating 100,000 new learner spaces in these areas is tangible delivery.

3. Curriculum reform and early learning

Grade: B+

Mandate: Reading for meaning by age 10 and early age numeracy.

Performance: The Funda Uphumelele National Survey results provided the first granular look at where reading breaks down. Implementing mother tongue-based bilingual education is bold. Piloting the first bilingual Grade 4 assessments is a historic step towards improving comprehension. Updating the national catalogue of learning and teaching support materials (Grades 1–3) and defining the “non-negotiables” core package helps standardise quality across quintiles.

4. Systemic efficiency and fiscal discipline

Grade: B

Mandate: Stabilise governance and ensure resources follow the learner.

Performance: Conducting a thorough analysis of provincial budgets (flagging seven as “unsustainable”) is a courageous move. Forcing provinces to develop financial recovery plans prevents a total collapse.Launching a review of the post provisioning norms was critical as it acknowledges that the old formula ignored realities like overcrowding and Grade R expansion.

5. Teacher development and support

Grade: B-

Mandate: Backing practitioners and protecting learning time.

Performance: Upskilling 7,000 Grade R practitioners and making it a compulsory grade is a strong move to formalise the sector. Prioritising Funza Lushaka bursaries for foundation phase teachers ensures a pipeline of educators. Reducing bureaucracy to stop “paperwork for the sake of paperwork” is the single most popular policy among teachers, though implementation is still in the early stages.

6. Student wellbeing and safety

Grade: B+

Mandate: Safety and nutrition.

Performance: Piloting the ECD nutrition programme to combat stunting is vital. The School Safety Protocol looks good on paper, but violence remains endemic. The review of White Paper 6 is overdue. Identifying learning barriers early is good, but the system lacks the psychologists and social workers to support it. She missed the self-imposed deadline to eradicate pit toilets, though addressing crumbling infrastructure remains high on her agenda.

7. Stakeholder management

Grade: B

Performance: The SA Democratic Teachers Union rejected her appointment as an “affront”, but she has managed to keep the peace. Parliament’s portfolio committee has welcomed her assurance of a renewed and data-driven focus on pinpointing targeted solutions and support interventions.

Timeline of the progress Gwarube made during her ministerial tenure

3 July 2024

Appointment and swearing-in

Her appointment is seen as a generational shift. She states her intention to put “learners at the centre” but inherits a sector fraught with challenges.

18 August 2024

Halts R10-billion tender

Stops a tender aimed at centralising the National School Nutrition Programme under a single supplier nationwide over concerns about corruption risks, lack of consultation and past failures in similar models at provincial level.

13 September 2024

Bela Act boycott

President Cyril Ramaphosa signs the Basic Education Law Amendment (Bela) Bill into law. Gwarube controversially boycotts the signing ceremony at the Union Buildings.

26 September 2024

Budget cuts briefing

Highlights severe budget cuts threatening the public education system, detailing how fiscal pressures are forcing provinces to reduce teaching posts, increase learner-teacher ratios and cut essentials like textbooks.

1 October 2024

Nedlac dispute notice

Receives notice of trade union Solidarity initiating a dispute at Nedlac, seeking authorisation for a national strike against the Bela Act. She opts for “good faith” negotiations.

6 November 2024

Food poisoning response

Says safety guidelines will be developed to keep harmful pesticides out of schools after cases of food poisoning related to spaza shop snacks.

27 November 2024

Bela Act settlement

Reaches a settlement with Solidarity over disputed clauses in the act, but Ramaphosa says it has “no bearing” on his constitutional power to decide when the act will commence.

4 December 2024

Benchmark reports

Releases benchmark reports from TIMSS and cross-national research in southern and eastern Africa. Highlights the “mixed picture” of progress in Grade 9 maths and science.

8 December 2024

Pressure to fire Gwarube

Reports surface that an ANC faction is pressuring Ramaphosa to fire her for “bypassing” the GNU to sign a deal with Solidarity. DA leader John Steenhuisen warns that firing her would end the GNU.

9 December 2024

Safe Schools app launch

Launches the Safe Schools app to create “transparency” regarding pit toilets and sets a hard deadline for eradication of all such toilets in schools by 31 March 2025.

20 December 2024

Bela Act proclamation

Ramaphosa signs proclamation operationalising all sections of the act immediately. Gwarube is directed to oversee its rollout.

25-27 February 2025

Basic education lekgotla

Convenes summit with MECs and senior officials with “storm clouds” of the budget as its central theme. Candidly admits that department is struggling to pay for “frontline services”.

31 March 2025

Pit toilet deadline

Reports progress in clearing backlog from 2018 audit, but civil society groups note “new” backlogs due to poor maintenance and incomplete initial data.

19 April 2025

WEF Young Global Leader

Receives recognition from the World Economic Forum as one of its Young Global Leaders, Class of 2025, for demonstrating good leadership.

10 July 2025

Delivers first budget

First full department budget vote in Parliament. Five core priorities: access to early childhood development, foundational literacy, inclusive education, teacher training and school safety.

6 August 2025

Gazettes first two sets of draft regulations for Bela Act (admissions and school capacity) using a “modular approach” instead of one massive document for easier public consumption. ANC criticises it as “piecemeal”.

27 August 2025

NETC established

Establishes and appoints experts as members of the National Education and Training Council, replacing old advisory structures, for “evidence-based” and data-driven policy advice.

10 November 2025

Funs survey launch

Releases findings of inaugural Funda Uphumelele National Survey, providing South Africa’s first comprehensive picture of early grade reading outcomes across all 11 official spoken languages.

24 November 2025

Bilingual assessments

Grade 4 pupils write their first mother tongue-based bilingual education assessments in mathematics and natural science to “strengthen foundational learning”.

29 November 2025

Outcomes-based fund

Launches the R496-million Outcomes-Based Education Fund, which is aimed at creating more than 100,000 new learner spaces in the most under-resourced provinces: Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

11 December 2025

Exam paper leak

Announces that 40 pupils at seven schools in Pretoria had access to National Senior Certificate exam papers in three subjects before they were written. Leak is traced to a department official, and two of its employees are suspended

12 January 2026

Record matric pass rate

Class of 2025 achieves an 88% pass rate, the highest in history (up from 87.3% in 2024). For the first time ever, all 75 school districts achieve a pass rate of 80% or above. DM

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