SA’s G20 presidency to focus on inclusive education

Ramaphosa made these remarks whilst delivering an address at the Basic Education Lekgotla in Boksburg on Thursday.

He says education is key to development and that South Africa will push for better access and skills training.

According to the president, education must evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly changing job market, ensuring no learner is left behind.

"Our education system needs to be responsive to the evolving skills-needs of the economy," he said. "One of the most important ways of doing this is through structured technical and vocational education pathways in the schooling system, that run parallel to the general academic education pathway.

"The diversification into academic, technical and vocational pathways provides learners with greater choices based on their interests, abilities and aptitudes. It enables them to choose the right careers and achieve greater success." 

Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of being more assertive in "marketing" these options to learners through subjects like life orientation or through career guidance classes.

"As stakeholders in the sector we need to work together to address the prevalent bias towards general academic education, and even the stigma that exists around choosing vocational occupations. Vocational training should not be seen as a fall-back option for learners who have been identified as unlikely to obtain the marks needed for university entry. It should be seen as an attractive proposition for all learners."

He says there is a need to improve foundational numeracy and literacy using the Mother-tongue based Bilingual Education approach.

"We have to adapt to this new reality or risk the consequences of last century methods that cannot deliver new century outcomes. As impressive as technological advances have been, technology is but a complement to human endeavour.

"There is no substitute for solid foundational education led by committed and capable educators that sets the stage for a more effective and equitable educational system.  At a foundational level, learners develop essential skills in literacy and numeracy, reducing pre-existing learning gaps, and form the building blocks for lifelong learning.

"Early childhood development plays a critical role. It is a strong social equaliser, with children from disadvantaged families benefiting most."

Ramphosa added that Artificial Intelligence is having a profound impact on the future.

"Globalisation, open knowledge flows and advancing technology are rapidly changing the world of work.

The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report shows the world’s fastest growing and fastest declining jobs.

"At the top of the pyramid – the jobs that are growing fastest – are big data specialists, User Interface and User Experience engineers, data warehousing specialists and renewable energy engineers. At the bottom of the pyramid, some of the jobs that are in decline include bank tellers, data entry clerks, cashiers, admin assistants, book-keeping and payroll clerks, and telemarketers, among others.

"Many of these occupations that are in decline are entry level positions for young people entering the job market after school. Artificial intelligence and large language models are cutting a swathe across many types of work."

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