President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged deep-seated problems in South Africa’s education system, warning that without urgent intervention, the country risks undermining its future growth and social development.
Delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla in Ekurhuleni on Wednesday, Ramaphosa outlined five critical challenges that government and society must confront.
These include skills shortages, hurdles to mother tongue-based education, weak early learning foundations, high school dropout rates, and unsafe scholar transport.
Scholar transport safety in focus
The president opened his address by mourning the deaths of 14 children killed in a school transport accident earlier this week.
He observed a moment of silence for the young lives lost.
“We mourn this loss deeply and extend our condolences to the families, teachers and classmates of the children who lost their lives. We wish those who were injured in the crash a speedy recovery,” the president added.
He urged immediate action to ensure scholar transport was “safe and reliable”, stressing that quality education was impossible without safe and healthy learning environments.
“We cannot accept that young lives are put at risk as they seek the growth and enrichment that an education provides,” Ramaphosa said.
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Skills shortages threaten economic growth
Ramaphosa warned that the slow growth of vocational and occupational education was worsening South Africa’s skills crisis.
“Our economy urgently needs these skills to drive our country’s growth,” he said, adding that basic education must do more to prepare pupils for a “skills revolution”.
He stressed that vocational education plays a vital role in preparing young people for the world of work and called for stronger partnerships between schools and the private sector to meet labour market demands.
“The National Development Plan envisages an education system in which all learners are equipped with strong foundational skills in literacy, numeracy and science.
“We are working to ensure that every classroom is supported by a coherent curriculum and well-trained teachers.
“By investing in foundational learning, we are building a resilient education system that can sustain learning, adapt to shocks and equip every child with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
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Early learning gaps undermine schooling
Ramaphosa said weak early learning remains one of the most serious threats to long-term educational success.
“Early learning must be firmly anchored at the core of our education system,” the president said.
He stressed that early childhood education lays the foundation for cognitive, social and emotional development.
“Children who receive quality early education are better prepared for future learning experiences,” Ramaphosa said.
The president described early learning as essential for nurturing “well-rounded, capable young people who can thrive academically, socially and economically”.
“Strengthening early grade reading and numeracy is a national priority and moral imperative.
“When children do not learn to read for meaning or to work confidently with numbers by the end of the Foundation Phase, the cost is borne by the entire education system,” he said.
Ramaphosa further warned that pupils who fall behind in early learning will spend the rest of their school careers trying to catch up.
“We see this in repetition, dropout, weak progression and the tragic loss of human potential.”
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Dropouts remain a major concern
Despite improvements in matric outcomes, Ramaphosa said school dropouts remained “distressing”.
“Nearly half a million children who entered Grade 1 in 2014 left school before reaching their matric year in 2025,” he said, noting that most dropped out between grades 10 and 12.
He called on teachers, parents and communities to intervene early, citing financial pressure, poor academic performance and domestic responsibilities as key drivers of dropout.
“We need to pay attention to the reasons learners drop out, from financial pressure to poor academic performance to increasing domestic responsibilities, and provide psychosocial support to those facing challenges in their home situation.”
ALSO READ: Fewer dropouts, steadier ground: Why the 2025 matric results offer cautious hope for SA’s schools
Mother tongue education faces resistance
While reaffirming government’s commitment to Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education (MTBBE), Ramaphosa admitted the programme faced significant challenges.
“Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education faces many challenges, from resource constraints to negative attitudes to African languages,” he said.
Ramaphosa said that these can be overcome by sustained advocacy and mobilisation across society.
“We must do more to prepare and support our teachers to work effectively in an evolving school environment, while at the same time safeguarding their well-being and professional dignity,” he noted.
By the end of 2025, nearly 12 000 schools had access to MTBBE, with the Department of Basic Education expanding teacher training and aligning curricula and assessments.
Ramaphosa said multilingualism, enshrined in the constitution, must be treated as a social and economic norm.
While celebrating gains such as an 88% matric pass rate in 2025, Ramaphosa said confronting these five challenges was essential to building “a resilient, inclusive and future-ready education system worthy of all the children of South Africa”.
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