The Department of Education aims to develop and maintain the education and training system of South Africa. It is responsible for:
developing the policy and legislative framework on which the education and training system rests
Initiating, evaluating, reviewing and researching all aspects of the education and training system
initiating and managing processes that lead to the development of policy and legislation
providing support to provinces and higher education institutions
monitoring and reporting on the implementation of policy, norms and standards, assessing their impact on the quality of the educational process and identifying policy gaps.