Minister Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi inaugurates member Advisory Committee on Curriculum and Quality Assurance at NSG

Government launches expert committee to strengthen Public Sector Education and Training Quality

The Minister for Public Service and Administration, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, has inaugurated a 13-member Advisory Committee on Curriculum and Quality Assurance of the National School of Government.

The Minister has appointed highly regarded educationist and former Deputy President, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, as Chairperson to lead the committee in supporting the NSG's execution of the capacity-building agenda of South Africa's public service.

Minister Buthelezi convened the inaugural two-day meeting of the Advisory Committee on Curriculum and Quality Assurance this week, a decisive step in the government's commitment to building a capable, professional, and service-oriented public administration.

The meeting coincided with President Cyril Ramaphosa signing two key pieces of legislative amendments into law on 1 April 2026: the Public Service Amendment Act and the Public Administration Management Act. The latter amendment act, in particular, is significant to the work of the NSG towards enhancing the quality, extent and impact of human resource capacity in public institutions to achieve the progressive realisation of a capable and development-oriented public administration. The Act now directs the NSG to design and deliver compulsory education and training programmes to the three spheres of government, and on-request programmes to public entities. This is a major game-changer for the institution through an expanded mandate as the NSG can now also design and offer academic and occupational qualifications as well as professional programmes aligned with statutory professional bodies. It also provides the NSG with greater leverage in implementing the National Professionalisation Framework.

The Committee unites an elite cohort of local and international experts drawn from academia, public service, local government and organised labour, bringing together deep knowledge in curriculum design, quality assurance, public finance, international economics, policy and legislation, governance, and monitoring and evaluation. International experts join from India, Singapore and Zambia.

Minister Buthelezi appointed Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka as Chairperson and Ms. Bongiwe Njobe as Deputy Chairperson - both recognised leaders whose stature reflects the seriousness with which government approaches the reform of public sector education and training.

"The establishment of this Committee is not a formality - it is a strategic imperative. We need expert advisory architecture that delivers guidance with rigour, credibility, and real-world relevance. Our public servants deserve training that prepares them to serve, not just to comply," stated Minister Buthelezi.

The Committee's mandate is to provide independent, technically sound guidance that shapes the competency frameworks driving public servants across the public sector. It will ensure that NSG's curriculum remains aligned with evolving service demands, international best practice, and the practical realities of effective governance. "Through this Committee, the NSG reaffirms its commitment to delivering high-quality, relevant, and impactful training, thereby ensuring that every public servant is equipped to meet the demands of a modern, accountable, ethical, and capable state," added Minister Buthelezi.

The inauguration of the Committee also served as a structured induction, with members engaging substantively with the NSG and collectively developing their Annual Work Plan. Over the next year, the Committee will prioritise the expansion of the NSG's reach into local government to close the capacity gap and improve frontline service delivery, track emerging trends in governance and public administration to keep education and training programmes future-fit and responsive, and position the NSG as the premier capacity-building institution by fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing across all training entities.

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