As South Africa displays on its file matric outcomes to this point, the Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube has reiterated her name for sturdy focus on literacy and numeracy in the early grades. She mentioned solely a stable basis in these areas will guarantee significant studying and long-term success for learners.
Gwarube gave the keynote tackle at present on the opening of the thirty fourth Annual Conference of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (SAARMSTE). The conference takes place on the University of Johannesburg (UJ)’s Bunting Road Campus and brings collectively main researchers, policymakers and education practitioners from throughout Africa and the worldwide South.
Running from 19 to 22 January 2026, the conference locations STEM education firmly in the nationwide and continental highlight at a time when South Africa is confronting pressing questions on educating high quality, learner efficiency and the abilities wanted for an more and more advanced, technology-driven future.
Gwarube, delivered the keynote tackle with a transparent coverage message at a second of nationwide reflection following the announcement of South Africa’s highest matric cross charge to this point. While welcoming the achievement, the Minister cautioned strongly in opposition to utilizing examination outcomes as the only measure of academic success.
“The matric pass rate is an important checkpoint, but it is part of a much longer journey,” mentioned Gwarube. “That journey begins long before a learner ever encounters algebra or physical science. It begins with children learning to read with meaning and to count with confidence.”
According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021, 81% of Grade 4 learners can’t learn for that means in any language, up from 78% in 2016. This implies that solely 19% of South African Grade 4 youngsters might learn for that means in any language in 2021 (all 11 languages have been assessed).
In a pointed message that resonated strongly with policymakers and researchers alike, the Minister warned that with out stable foundations in literacy and numeracy in the early grades, even essentially the most formidable curriculum reforms, technology investments and funding will increase would have restricted affect. She emphasised that bettering participation and efficiency in arithmetic and science requires sustained, long-term focus somewhat than short-term interventions.
Gwarube challenged the analysis group to make sure that proof generated by means of research and conferences interprets into actual change in lecture rooms, significantly in essentially the most under-resourced and difficult education environments. “We have to shorten the distance between evidence and implementation,” she mentioned, calling for stronger alignment between analysis, coverage growth, trainer education and on a regular basis educating observe. Education reform, she careworn, isn’t about fast wins, however about persistence, accountability and sustained collaboration.
UJ’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, who gave the opening and welcome remarks, issued a robust problem to the sector, calling on delegates to rethink how STEM education is taught in a world evolving quicker than conventional lecture rooms can hold tempo. He warned that education methods throughout Africa are at a vital tipping level, going through a selection between relevance and innovation on the one hand, and stagnation and obsolescence on the opposite.
“We are here to reimagine STEM education for a world that will not wait for us to catch up,” mentioned Prof Mpedi, stressing that the tempo of technological and social change leaves little room for complacency and presents African education methods with a stark selection between relevance and obsolescence.
Drawing on UJ’s personal expertise as a college that additionally features a high-performing, STEM-focused highschool, the UJ Academy, Mpedi argued that future success in arithmetic and science can’t be constructed on rote memorisation. He emphasised the necessity for deep conceptual understanding, inclusive entry and sustained funding in educating high quality, significantly in disciplines that underpin innovation and financial participation.
Mpedi pointed to the UJ Academy’s latest 100% matric cross charge, achieved with a robust emphasis on STEM and ICT topics, as proof of what is feasible when learners are supported by means of rigorous educating and significant engagement with content material. “Our students will graduate into a world shaped by artificial intelligence, quantum computing and climate change,” he mentioned. “The real question is whether they will shape that future or merely observe it.”
The SAARMSTE 2026 conference comes at a pivotal time as South Africa and the continent grapple with fast international shifts in synthetic intelligence, knowledge science and automation, and the rising demand for problem-solving, vital considering and technological literacy. Over the following 4 days, delegates will current new analysis on curriculum design, digital integration, educating methods and equitable entry to high quality education, geared toward strengthening learner outcomes and long-term competitiveness.
With members attending from throughout Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia, at present’s opening marks the beginning of a high-level continental dialogue on how STEM education can higher serve learners, economies and societies. “This is long-term work,” the Minister reminded delegates. “The seeds we plant today may not bear fruit in our own lifetimes, but plant them we must.”