Ramaphosa says government prioritising Early Childhood Development

President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the government was determined to place greater emphasis on and make more investment into the early years of schooling to achieve better matric outcomes.

As from this year, Grade R is compulsory at all schools.

Writing in his first newsletter for the year, Ramaphosa said the government was on an ambitious drive to register and provide subsidies to more early childhood development centres.

While lauding the 88% pass rate of the class of 2025 and the increase in bachelor's passes from disadvantaged schools, Ramaphosa said the challenges in the education system could not be ignored.

This included the nearly 500,000 children who entered grade 1 in 2014 but did not make it to grade 12 last year.

The president said more needed to be done to increase the number of children who completed their schooling.

READ: Matric class of 2025 records SA's highest pass rate ever

Another challenge concerning the president was the drop in performance in subjects like mathematics and accounting, despite more pupils taking these subjects.

Ramaphosa said these were the subjects that were needed to excel in a rapidly changing economy.

He said this was why the government was strengthening early grade reading, improving teaching materials, and focusing on teacher development in the early grades.

"By investing in children at the start of their school career, by giving them a solid educational foundation, we are preparing them for success. We are working to ensure that they all finish their schooling, that they excel in matric and that they go on to thrive in everything they do," the president wrote.