This represents a review of the planning framework of the department of basic education (DBE), to reflect changes in functional areas, institutional structures, and plans and programmes at the national level; and allow for the coverage of issues pertaining to provinces in provincial programmes and plans. The areas of focus for the five-year sectoral strategic plan include the provision of learning and teaching support materials (LTSM), support for rural and small schools, and recruitment and deployment of educators.

The delivery agreement is long-term and applies to the whole government. It provides detail to the outputs, targets, indicators and key activities to achieve outcome 1; Improved quality of basic education. The agreement identifies the required inputs and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the various delivery partners. It should be read alongside the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realization of Schooling 2025.

The purposes for which the report was developed include: to record the progress that has been made at a national and provincial level in the implementation processes; to track progress on priorities outlined in the National Inclusive Education Strategy of 2011; to highlight models of good practice at the provincial level and areas of need for additional resources, and to make recommendations on norms and standards as well as amendments required to ensure that South Africa meets its national and international educational obligations on inclusive education.

The full version of the action plan is intended for managers responsible for implementation, and people responsible for monitoring the success of implementation. It highlights the 27 goals of the action plans and specific delineations. The plan is South Africa’s foremost comprehensive long-term sector plan for schools; and it guides the ten education departments dealing with basic education (the national Department of Basic Education and the nine provincial departments).

The full version of the action plan is directed at a broad range of stakeholders for the education sector, ranging from parents, teachers, school principals, and officials at the district, to foreign investors looking to invest in the development of the sector. It highlights the 27 goals of the action plans and specific delineations. The plan provides continuity, as it follows from the basic structure of the 2011 action. It guides the ten education departments dealing with basic education (the national Department of Basic Education and the nine provincial departments).

An abridged version of the delivery agreement for outcome 1; and improved quality of basic education.

The strategic policy framework on disability for the post-school education and training (PSET) system intends to create an inclusive PSET system for people with disabilities, guide PSET institutions in the creation of an enabling environment for people with disabilities, and provide the department of higher education and training with a monitoring and evaluation instrument to ensure that disability compliance is mainstreamed in all PSET institutions.

The curriculum assessment policy statement outlining the guidelines for responding to learner diversity in the classroom. The guidelines are intended to provide teachers, principals, subject advisors, administrators, school governors and other personnel, parameters and strategies on how to respond to learner diversity in the classrooms through the curriculum. They are intended for school based teacher development by the Institution level support teams and district based support teams.

The strategic plan of the department of higher education and training (DHET) follows from the second national priority of the national development plan (NDP); education, skills, and health. It charts the course of the DHET for the five years under covered by the plan. The focus of the DHET is on the development of the post-school education and training (PSET) system.

The strategic plan outlines the building blocks necessary to ensure a strong foundation for the educational system. It strives to ensure that the skills needed to drive South Africa’s economic growth and social development are delivered at an increasing rate for both young people and adults.

The third skills development strategy is subsequent on the integration of programmes to create the department of higher education and training. It hopes to promote partnerships between employers, public education institutions, private training providers, and sector education and training authorities. The strategy seeks to prioritise solidifying the relationship among specified stakeholders.

The strategic plan aims to improve access to learning while combating the dual challenge of equity and development. It strives to ensure that the skills needed to drive South Africa’s economic growth and social development are delivered at an increasing rate for both young people and adults.

The policy emphasises the important role of parents and primary caregivers in providing care, support and upbringing of their children. The national policy focuses on providing comprehensive, universally available and equitable early childhood development services. The Policy covers the period from conception until the year before children enter formal school or, in the case of children with developmental difficulties and disabilities, until the year before the calendar year they turn seven (7), which marks the age of compulsory schooling or special education.

The Strategy forms part of the implementation of education white paper 6 – Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. The strategy allows children facing educational barriers to exercise their basic education rights, and access to support services. It introduces new roles, and responsibilities for the
education support system in the country: the district-based support teams, special school resource centres, full-service schools, and the institution-level support teams.

This represents the white paper on special needs education in South Africa, towards building an inclusive education and training system. It highlights the resolve of the national government to audit special schools, develop investment plans to improve their quality of education and accommodate learners with severe disabilities. It overhauls the process of admitting learners, and it makes provisions for structures acknowledging the central role played by specified stakeholders, as a form of replacement. The white paper, together with the white paper on early childhood development (ECD), serves as the completion of seven years of post-apartheid policy development and policy-making on education and training.

The 2007-2011 strategic plan represents the department of education’s reaffirmation and commitment towards the transformation of the education system in South Africa. The 4-year plan focuses on improving support to schools, educators, and district offices. The strategic plan is anchored to the broad priorities of the department: dealing with poverty, skills development, quality improvement, health and education, and institutional development.

The statement of policy and commitment by the department of education. The statement highlights the achievement in the education sector, as the country celebrates its first decade of freedom. The department pushes to build on the achievements; it seeks to enhance the professional status of teaching, and address infrastructural inadequacies in the education sector.

The amendment operates under the South African Schools Act of 2006. It sets out the national norms and standards for school funding, it deals with the procedures to be adopted by Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) in determining resource allocations to schools, and it replaces all previous school funding norms issued in terms of sections of the South African Schools Act. The norms and standards deal with the public funding of public schools, the exemption of parents who are unable to pay school fees, and public subsidies to independent schools. They apply uniformly in all provinces.

The Strategy forms part of the implementation of education white paper 6 – Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. The strategy allows children facing educational barriers to exercise their basic education rights, and access to support services. It introduces new roles, and responsibilities for the
education support system in the country: the district-based support teams, special school resource centers, full-service schools, and the institution-level support teams.

The equitable policy sets out to address the persisting inequality challenges and inadequacies in allocation and access to basic school infrastructure services; laboratories, computers, and classrooms. The policy seeks to fill the gap of the lack of specific national and provincial policies. It serves as a framework to guide the development of physical teaching and learning environment.