October 2023

Dear NECT Stakeholders,

The National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) extends its sincere gratitude for your invaluable contribution to the NECT 10th Anniversary Convention held 11-12 September 2023.

Your insights greatly enriched the convention as we explored the central theme of collaboration for educational reform in South Africa.

We brought together education stakeholders and partners to reflect on a decade of NECT work, envision the future of education, and discuss various topics categorised into four themes: District and School Improvement, Systemic Improvement Programming, Policy Instruments for Improvement, and Partnerships and Collaboration in Education.

The convention highlighted opportunities, challenges and commitments for collaborative education improvement. To solidify our collective commitment, a Convention Declaration was constructed, as presented in chapter 7.

We look forward to continued collaboration for educational excellence in South Africa; your contributions are instrumental in this endeavour. We anticipate further engagements that will drive positive changes in the education sector.

Sincerely,

## FACT SHEET

## 2015 - 2019 Scale-Up Phase

# 17,645

(66%) schools reached in 9 provinces.

# 93,409

Teachers reached

# 679

Schools provided with ablution facilities through the launch of the SAFE Project.

# 42,000

Teachers reached after introducing the Reading Improvement Programmes

- Established the Education Technical Assistance Office (ETAO) to strengthen state capacity to deliver on strategic imperatives
- Introduced the modernisation of SA-SAMs to advance data-backed decision making in education.

## 2020 - 2021 COVID-19 Pandemic

NECT played a strategic role in supporting the DBE with learning continuity during lockdown, preparing for the safe return of learners to schools, and laying the foundation for recovery and rebuilding in the system.

# 13,000+

Officials, teachers, parents, learners surveyed on the state of the school readiness to reopen safely

# R80+ Million

Mobilised to support the Education Covid-19 Response Plan

# R8+ Million

Mobilised to refurbish KZN schools affected by the July unrest

## 2022 Recovery and Rebuilding phase

Contributed to the recovery and rebuilding of the education system following the Covid-19 disruptions. This entailed:

- Providing technical support for the development of curriculum-strengthening strategy, including the SA Competency Framework

# 20,800

(90%) schools reached in 9 provinces.

# 115,000

Teachers reached, inlcuding school managers.

# 500+

Schools functionality studies conducted on the return to normal time-tabling and levels of curriculum coverage

# 9,000+

Schools that launched the One Million African Storybook Project in all official home languages

## TABLE OF CONTENTS

###### 1. Executive Summary

###### 2. Chapter 1

Day 1: Morning Session - Exploring the Future & Building Back Better in Education
Day 1: Afternoon Session - Reflections on Education Change

###### 3. Chapter 2

Day 2: Reflections on the Programming and Implementation of Education Change

###### 4. Chapter 3

Policy Analysis and Programming for Action

###### 5. Chapter 4

Reflections on the Programming and Implementation of Education Change

###### 6. Chapter 5

The Future of Education Improvement

###### 7. Chapter 6

Concluding Remarks

###### 8. Chapter 7

Convention Declaration

###### 9. Gallery