Without basic education, we have no good science foundation holding the country upright at all.
These are the words of innovation and science minister Blade Nzimande at the 2025 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla that kicked off on Thursday morning in Ekurhuleni.
He said the role of education in promoting science, technology and innovation are interlinked.
“Science, technology and innovation are important and they play a role in strengthening basic education, but basic education itself has got to produce learners who are doing massive science. Similarly, we must supply school leavers who qualify to join the science stream. Without basic education that is strong and doing well, we have no good science system in our country. It's as simple as that,” said Nzimande.
This is as he reveals how the country is making strides in health innovation.
“Science is about one thing and one thing only. It's to provide solutions to the problems that we face as humanity and we are making a difference in areas such as health innovation, for instance dealing with HIV and Aids. I'm pleased to say that from last year we are now able to produce some vaccines for the first time in our country,” he said.
Without strong basic education, we have no good science system – Nzimande
Image: ANTONIO MUCHAVE
Without basic education, we have no good science foundation holding the country upright at all.
These are the words of innovation and science minister Blade Nzimande at the 2025 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla that kicked off on Thursday morning in Ekurhuleni.
He said the role of education in promoting science, technology and innovation are interlinked.
“Science, technology and innovation are important and they play a role in strengthening basic education, but basic education itself has got to produce learners who are doing massive science. Similarly, we must supply school leavers who qualify to join the science stream. Without basic education that is strong and doing well, we have no good science system in our country. It's as simple as that,” said Nzimande.
This is as he reveals how the country is making strides in health innovation.
“Science is about one thing and one thing only. It's to provide solutions to the problems that we face as humanity and we are making a difference in areas such as health innovation, for instance dealing with HIV and Aids. I'm pleased to say that from last year we are now able to produce some vaccines for the first time in our country,” he said.
The department of basic education is aligning the 2025 G20 agenda with the 2025 Basic Education Lekgotla to promote broader participation and ensure that SA’s education policies reflect national priorities.
The focus will be on early childhood development (ECD), literacy, numeracy, bilingual education and skills development, aiming to improve foundational learning and adapt to a changing world.
Speaking on key education initiatives, Nzimande highlighted the importance of coding, support for learners with disabilities and improving mathematics and science performance in schools.
“We will also be continuing with our project that is based at our Centre for High Performance Computing in Cape Town, which has trained close to 200 educators from all nine provinces as trainers in the basics of coding. This is a practical area of co-operation with the department of basic education,” Nzimande said.
SowetanLIVE
WATCH | President Ramaphosa set to address basic education Lekgotla
'They want to defend privileged white schools': Blade Nzimande on DA’s push against Bela Act implementation
Administrator Nomvalo tasked with nursing ailing NSFAS back to good health
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos