The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) and the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT), engage in a Provincial Dialogue on their 10th Anniversary at the Mandla Makupula Education Leadership Institute in East London on the 1st and 2nd June 2023.

Deputy Director General, Raymond Tywakadi shared the purpose of the two-day Provincial dialogue saying; " Today we will be dealing with fundamentals and how to mitigate challenges as they come through", he went on to say to the delegates, "If your districts and curriculum is functional then there is always space to learn and grow."

NECT was established to support DBE in achieving the education improvement goals outlined in the National Development Plan (NDP). 90% of the Public Schooling System have been reached over the last 10 years. NECT's work is guided by six areas as follows:

- Teacher Professionalisation
- Courageous and Effective Leadership
- Capacitating the state to deliver
- Resourcing in schools
- Parent and community involvement
- Learner well-being and support.

In the Eastern Cape specifically 75% of districts have been supported on District Development, Leadership and Management. 187 district officials from the nine districts were trained in conducting district self-evaluations and development using the FOP approach.

Some of the achievements in Primary Schools are as follows:

- 331 410 storybooks distributed to schools
- Reading Champions deployed
- 204 Subject Advisors trained on reading improvement
- 2342 Schools reached

This has been a very fruitful Provincial Dialogue thus far and will continue tomorrow with Dr G Khosa, CEO on NECT, deliberating on Rationale for support to foundations for learning.