Honourable Members, the quality of our schools and further education institutions is at the heart of our commitment to our children’s future.

Improvements have to begin in the foundation phase of the education “value-chain”. We will continue to increase resources for early childhood development, improve our basic education outcomes and step up our support to TVET colleges and universities.

Spending on basic education next year will be over R240 billion, or 17.5 per cent of the consolidated budget. Allocations for school building increase at 12.5 per cent a year. Spending on learning and teaching support materials increases by 9.5 per cent over the next three years.