On 7 and 8 August 2025, Sol Plaatje University (SPU) hosted the Northern Cape G20 Education Indaba, at the newly built Great Hall on its North Campus, under the theme “Quality Foundational Learning.”
The G20 is an inter-governmental forum of the world’s largest economies, comprising 19 countries and two regional unions: the European Union (EU) and, recently, the African Union (AU). This provincial engagement brought together stakeholders from government, academia and civil society to explore strategies for strengthening foundational learning within the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector.
Opening the Indaba, Executive Mayor of Sol Plaatje Municipality, Ms Barbara Bartlett, referenced recent reports revealing that more than 4 000 learners have dropped out of school in the Northern Cape – a statistic she called a “call to action”. She commended MEC for Education, Mr Abraham Vosloo, for putting in place a dedicated team to trace, re-engage and support these learners, describing the initiative as a reflection of government’s intentionality and commitment to restoring dignity, access and opportunity for every child.
SPU Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Debra Meyer, delivered a message of support highlighting the University’s contributions to the G20 Education Working Group’s priority of teacher professionalisation. In partnership with the Northern Cape Department of Education, SPU researchers are analysing learner performance to identify foundational skill gaps and co-design evidence-based interventions – directly embracing the Indaba’s call to reform teaching practice with locally grounded solutions.
Delivering the keynote address, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Reginah Mhaule, urged delegates to treat the Indaba as a call to action for transforming Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in South Africa. She drew attention to challenges including limited access, poor infrastructure, and a shortage of trained practitioners, noting that the Northern Cape has the lowest ECD enrolment in the country. Citing the 2022 Census, she highlighted that 56.7% of children in the province are not in ECD programmes, calling for multi-sector collaboration and outlining six priorities for reform focused on learner-centred education, community involvement and innovation.
SPU’s academic expertise was represented in the programme through two key contributions. Dr Glynnis Daries, Senior Lecturer in Foundation Phase Teaching, participated in the panel discussion on literacy and numeracy, advocating for play-based learning from birth to nine years, and the use of traditional games and indigenous knowledge to strengthen problem-solving, numeracy and literacy skills in culturally relevant ways. Dr Emma Barnett, Lecturer in Policy and Management Studies, chaired the commission on curriculum innovation and teacher development, guiding discussions towards practical strategies for equipping educators with 21st-century competencies, strengthening pre-service and in-service training, and embedding inclusivity in teaching practice.
The Northern Cape G20 Education Indaba reinforced SPU’s role as a catalyst for educational innovation and social impact in the province. By providing a platform for diverse voices from policy, academia and the community, the University reaffirmed its commitment to advancing research-driven, contextually relevant solutions that support quality foundational learning for all children.
