By Levy Masiteng
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has been named to TIME magazine’s TIME100 Next list for 2026, joining 100 emerging leaders the publication says are the world’s most influential rising stars.
The annual list, released on Wednesday, recognises emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future across politics, science, business, entertainment and other fields.
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Reacting to her inclusion, Gwarube wrote on X: “What an incredible honour being selected as @TIME 100 Next for 2026: The World’s Most Influential Rising Stars. I love serving my country. And I am absolutely passionate about affording all our 13.7 million learners the quality education that they deserve. 😊🇿🇦 What uMama did could never be undone.”
TIME traced Gwarube’s recognition partly to her personal journey from rural poverty to the cabinet, describing her as having come from “the generation of Black students walled off by apartheid in resource-starved schools, severely constraining their prospects”.
“Now, at 37, Gwarube has the chance to write a new history as Minister of Basic Education,” TIME said.
The publication said Gwarube had “ditched old formalities with straight talk on social media, taken on skeptical teachers’ unions, and dismantled crony procurement contracts”.
TIME also highlighted her position as a Democratic Alliance minister serving in the Government of National Unity.
“Despite representing the opposition Democratic Alliance party in a two-year-old coalition government, she has won over the Mandela-era grandees in power with charm and clarity,” the magazine said.
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It said Gwarube’s central message was that South Africa “risks dire economic pain without vastly more investment in new schools and early learning”.
TIME cited comments she made in Parliament in August, when she said: “Education is where productivity begins.”
“We will not stop until we get it right,” Gwarube said.
Her recognition comes as the Department of Basic Education places increased emphasis on early childhood development and improving foundational literacy and numeracy.
In her 2026/27 Budget Vote speech in May, Gwarube said the department’s priorities included early childhood development, improving foundational literacy and numeracy, supporting teachers, strengthening inclusive education and improving school safety and infrastructure.
She said that more than 13,300 early childhood development centres had been registered, exceeding the department’s target of 10,000 centres.
She also said more than 1.2 million children had access to registered ECD programmes.
Gwarube joins an international TIME100 Next list that includes British actor Himesh Patel and American engineer and astronaut Anna Menon.
