2024-04-172024-04-172024-03-189781431538652chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/APP%202024.25.pdf?ver=2024-03-18-150124-447http://lhg.cput.ac.za//handle/123456789/267The 2024/25 Annual Performance Plan (APP) of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) concludes the planned outcomes of the 2020-2025 Strategic Planning period. South Africa, like many other countries of the world, was severely affected by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Poverty, inequality and unemployment soared and the negative impact on the schooling sector was almost immeasurable. The closure of schools and the introduction of a rotational system of learning for the majority of the learners meant that there was a loss of formal curriculum teaching and learning. Learners, particularly in lower grades, could not learn optimally at home since parents were confronted with the challenge of home-confined teaching and learning. Teachers faced the challenge of ensuring continuity of teaching in very perplexing circumstances. Although measures were introduced through digital and remote learning interventions, these were not adequate to mitigate learning losses in many instances, particularly amongst poor households. This exacerbated the already existing schooling challenges and reversed some of the gains we had made around the foundational learning competencies of our learners. Global Organisations such as the World Bank, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) observed a deep pre-COVID learning crisis. In 2019, learning poverty was estimated at 57% in low-and middle-income countries. Post-COVID, there is a surge of up to 70% in learning poverty in low-and middle-income countries, as high as 86% for Sub-Saharan Africa. Learning poverty equals the share of children who cannot read a simple text by age 10. This APP aims to conclude its commitments made in the current Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), and commitments are still resolute on achieving Priority 3, that is, Education, Skills and Health through the following outcomes: a) b) c) d) e) Outcome 1: Improved school readiness of children; Outcome 2: 10-year-old learners enrolled in publicly funded schools read for meaning; Outcome 3: Youths better prepared for further studies and the world of work beyond Grade 9; Outcome 4: Youths leaving the schooling system more prepared to contribute towards a prosperous and equitable South Africa; and Outcome 5: School physical infrastructure and environment that inspires learners to learn and teachers to teach.enAnnual reportsSouth AfricaBasic education sectorCOVID-19Technical Report