The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) has given provincial education departments the green light to order textbooks from a new foundation phase catalogue. The catalogue, which updates the list of approved books for grades 1 to 3, aims to improve literacy and numeracy skills of young learners. According to the basic education department, these skills have been lagging behind international peers. The catalogue was last updated 15 years ago.
The new catalogue had been under intense scrutiny after a new publishing company with no prior experience won a large share of the titles. The CEM, chaired by basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube, endorsed the new catalogue after a thorough review. The review, described as a "triple-layer" process, included an assessment by the auditor-general, an independent investigation, and opinions from internal legal services and external senior counsel.
The review found no evidence of fraud or favouritism in the selection process of books and publishers. The department stated that this cleared the way for the implementation of the new catalogue. The catalogue offers updated, curriculum-aligned materials with stronger resources for early grade reading. It includes 40 readers per class and a core reader per learner.
The new catalogue reduces the number of listed titles from eight to three. This reduction aims to enable more focused teacher development and support. Additionally, the catalogue makes provision for newer subjects such as coding and robotics. These changes are expected to improve the quality of education for young learners.
The implementation of the new catalogue is expected to save the government R3 billion. The department estimates that it will cost R1.6 billion to implement, compared to R4.6 billion for the old catalogue. Co-ordinated procurement will reduce costs by enabling publishers to print larger volumes of books at the same time.
The department attributes the cost savings to economies of scale achieved through co-ordinated procurement. This approach allows publishers to print larger volumes of books simultaneously, reducing costs. The new catalogue is an important part of the basic education department's efforts to improve education outcomes.
The implementation of the new catalogue is a significant step towards improving education in South Africa. Provincial education departments can now order textbooks that align with the curriculum and provide stronger resources for early grade reading. The department aims to improve literacy and numeracy skills of young learners, which have been lagging behind international peers.
Key points
- The new catalogue was approved by the Council of Education Ministers after a thorough review found no evidence of fraud or favouritism.
- The implementation of the new catalogue is expected to save the government R3 billion.
- The catalogue offers updated, curriculum-aligned materials with stronger resources for early grade reading.
