The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is one of the departments of the

South African government The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

. It oversees

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It was created in 2009 after the election of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

, when the former

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

was divided into the

Department of Basic Education The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is one of the departments of the South African government. It oversees primary and secondary education in South Africa. It was created in 2009 after the election of President Jacob Zuma, when the former Dep ...

and the

Department of Higher Education and Training The Department of Higher Education and Training is one of the departments of the South African government. It oversees universities and other post-secondary education in South Africa. It was created in 2009 after the election of President Jacob ...

. The political head of the department is the Minister of Basic Education; this is

Angie Motshekga Matsie Angelina "Angie" Motshekga (born 19 June 1955) is a South African politician and educator, serving as the Minister of Basic Education since May 2009. She was also appointed as an acting president of the Republic of South Africa on 2 July ...

. The department oversees all the schools in South Africa, sets up the curriculum for the different grades. DBE works with many stakeholders such as ISASA and NAISA etc. The department is headquartered in Sol Plaatje House, named after the author

Sol Plaatje Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (9 October 1876 – 19 June 1932) was a South African intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator and writer. Plaatje was a founding member and first General Secretary of the South African Native Nation ...

, in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. This South African ministry has been heavily criticized, especially during the 2012 textbook crisis. In the 2010 national budget, the department received an appropriation of 6,166.2 million

rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

, and had 730 employees. In 2019, the department obtained a record matric pass rate of 81.3%. In 2020, the brand partnered up with eMedia Investments to introduce an educational channel to help learners known as DBE TV on the

OpenView HP OpenView is the former name for a Hewlett-Packard product family that consisted of network and systems management products. In 2007, HP OpenView was rebranded as HP BTO (''Business Technology Optimization'') Software when it became part of t ...

platform. Thereafter, they launched a new free-to-air initiative to help out matrics with their exams known as Woza Matrics. In 2020 they had a tough year dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, where schools had to close its doors and open them again.

References

External links

Official website
Department of Education CAPS Resources
Official website

Basic Education According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), basic education comprises the two stages primary education and lower secondary education. Universal basic education Basic education featured heavily in the 1997 ISCE ...

Education in South Africa South Africa, Basic {{SouthAfrica-gov-stub