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Keynote address by His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, during the Transforming Education Summit (TES +4), Room I, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France

Office of the Deputy President (The Presidency)Ref: https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/keynote-address-his-excellency-cyril-ramaphosa-president-republic-south-africa-during-transforming

Official source

Source domain: thepresidency.gov.za

Collected on 11 July 2026

Always confirm details on the official source before acting.

Our copy (archived 21 July 2026)Official source

What this means

This document is the text of a keynote address delivered by South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Transforming Education Summit (TES +4) at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The speech reflects on education as a transformative force, cites examples and South Africa’s recent school-leaving certificate results, and reviews progress toward SDG 4 since the 2022 TES commitments and the 2024 Fortaleza Declaration. It calls for bold, system-wide education transformation focused on teacher conditions, equity and inclusion, accountability for learner outcomes, and sustained financing amid ongoing global challenges.

Facts

Reference

https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/keynote-address-his-excellency-cyril-ramaphosa-president-republic-south-africa-during-transforming

Key Takeaways

  • Speaker: His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa
  • Event: Transforming Education Summit (TES +4)
  • Location: Room I, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
  • References: 2024 Global Meeting and the Fortaleza Declaration
  • Focus: Progress toward SDG 4 and education transformation commitments
  • South Africa claim: highest school-leaving certificate pass rate in democratic history (last year); majority of university-entry qualifying passes from poor communities; university/TVET study described as free
  • Key themes: teacher working conditions, equity and inclusion, accountability for results, resilience of education systems
  • G20 link: South Africa’s G20 Presidency outcomes aligned with SDG 4 via foundation quality learning, strengthening the education profession, and mutual recognition of qualifications/skills
  • Time horizon: midpoint between 2022 commitments and 2030 deadline; milestones of 2027 and beyond
  • Cyril Ramaphosa
  • Nelson Mandela
  • UNESCO
  • Prof Khaled El-Enany
  • Amina Mohammed
  • United Nations (UN)
  • Transforming Education Summit (TES +4)
  • Fortaleza Declaration
  • G20
  • SDG 4 (Sustainable Development Goal 4)