Central SA
More than a thousand North West educators trained to boost performance─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 15:13 Thu, 14 Aug 2025
More than a thousand North West educators have been trained as part of the department of education’s efforts to develop teachers and enhance learner performance in the province since the start of the academic year.
The professional development programmes cover critical areas of education, including languages, mathematics, and science. The training aims to sharpen teaching skills, deepen subject matter expertise, and align educators’ practices with the demands of the modern curriculum.
“The department’s ongoing training interventions are designed to sharpen teaching skills, enhance subject mastery, and align classroom practices with modern curriculum demands,” said education spokesperson Mphata Molokwane. “This focus on building robust educational foundations is crucial to enhancing classroom delivery and improving student outcomes across the province.”
The second quarter of training sessions is underway, ensuring that educators continue to receive relevant, high-quality professional development in preparation for the final stretch of the academic year, he added. The department has made it clear that investing in teacher capacity is central to meeting its performance goals.
Molokwane said the sustained investment in teacher capacity is one of the department’s strategies to reach the 95% learner performance target set by MEC Viola Motsumi for year-end results.
The department of education has meanwhile partnered with the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) to develop a capacity-building programme specifically for school principals. This collaboration, set to launch in September, will focus on enhancing leadership skills, ethical governance, and the ability to manage educational transformation.
The programme will address several key areas, including:
• developing and delivering context-specific training for principals;
• building ethical, accountable, and visionary leadership;
• empowering school leaders to embrace digital transformation;
• fostering change management to keep school leadership in line with evolving educational needs; and
• strengthening unity and partnerships between the department and Sadtu to transform education.
Other teacher unions would implement similar programmes for school principals. This ensures that, regardless of union affiliation, all principals would receive consistent, high-quality leadership training.
“This approach aims to strengthen instructional leadership, ethical governance, and professional management across schools, ensuring that curriculum delivery is both innovative and responsive to learner needs,” said Molokwane.
Meanwhile, Motsumi, who has set a target of 95% learner performance by the end of the academic year, stressed the importance of these initiatives in reaching the ambitious goal. She highlighted that developing both teachers and principals is essential for creating a strong and effective education system.
“Our investment in teacher and principal development is about equipping our educators with the right tools, skills, and mindset to inspire excellence in every classroom,” Motsumi said.
“The strides we are making through ongoing training, and now through the teacher unions’ collaboration, are laying the foundation for us to reach and even surpass the 95% mark. A strong curriculum depends on strong teachers, and strong teachers need strong leaders.”
The province has also launched a campaign focused on improving matriculation performance. Through targeted discussions with underperforming schools, the department aims to address challenges and develop strategies to enhance the quality of matric results across the province.
