Foreign learners make up only 1.8% of South Africa’s total learner population, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) said on Thursday, rejecting claims that children from other countries are “overrunning” local schools as misleading and unsupported by national enrolment data.
KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Sipho Hlomuka said on Thursday that schools should not be misused to stir community tensions, as he addressed parents and officials at Addington Primary School in Durban, following days of protests outside the institution.
More than R1.7 billion meant for poor and working class students has been returned to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) after an investigation exposed years of weak controls, unclaimed funds and payments to unqualified beneficiaries.
The ANC-led Gauteng Department of Education has shifted the blame for school funding pressures to the DA-led national Department of Basic Education, accusing it of failing to provide relief while allowing what it called misinformation about provincial budget cuts to spread.
Despite broader systemic challenges such as student funding constraints and historic debt, Stellenbosch University and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) are operationally ready for the 2026 academic year.
The former Ntabankulu Senior Primary School deputy principal who murdered three female teachers last week before killing himself, had previously intimidated staff and pupils by conducting “random shootouts” outside the school premises, according to Eastern Cape department of education spokesperson, Velani Mbiza-Gola.
Protests at Addington Primary School near the Durban beachfront intensified this week, despite efforts by education officials to place some learners, while parents renewed objections to proposals that some children be accommodated at schools outside the central Durban area.
The South Africa Under-19 cricket team received a sobering reminder of the standards required at Super Six level as they opened their ICC Under-19 World Cup campaign with a six-wicket defeat to Australia Under-19s, leaving the young Proteas under immediate pressure in Group I.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) on Monday officially started the national rollout of teacher training workshops in Mpumalanga, to support the implementation of the Online Teacher Development Platform (OTDP).
Organisations may have networks, devices and platforms in place, yet still struggle to use technology at scale because the talent pipeline is too thin.
