Since ascending to the throne in 1986, His Majesty King Mswati III has consistently identified education as a central pillar of Eswatini’s economic transformation, social cohesion and cultural preservation. All speeches from the throne have underscored the importance of accessible, equitable and quality education as a key pillar for sustainable national development. In the last forty years, this vision has translated into constitutional reform, legislative frameworks development and budgetary prioritization including institutional strengthening across all sub sectors of the education system.
Legislative and Policy Reforms
Since Independence, the education system was regulated by different pieces of legislation until 2005, when His Majesty signed the constitution into the supreme law of the Land. The constitution explicitly guarantees education. It provides that “every person shall have the right to free education in public schools at least up to the end of primary school, beginning with the first grade”. The Free Primary Education Act 2010 introduced the phased implementation of the constitutional mandate.
There also exists a number of policies such as the National Education and Training Sector Policy 2011, 2018 and the under review 2026 national education sector policy. Other Programmes ensuring implementation of His Majesty’s vision include the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) grant, implemented through the Deputy Prime Minister’s office to assist needy families with secondary education fees. The scholarship policy 2011 supports tertiary education students by subsidizing this level of education through student loans for priority courses and has spearheaded the emergence of a number of public and private tertiary institutions.
Early Childhood Care and Development Education (ECCDE)
The ECCDE sub sector has also benefitted from the reforms post 1986. Currently, there is a competency-based curriculum for preschool and for Grade 0, there are established standards, and the MOET has supplied teaching and learning materials to more than half of the primary schools where Grade 0 is attached. In the last 15 years, the ECCDE as a sub sector has evolved and teachers are gradually being employed by Government. The ECCDE mapping exercise in 2022 revealed that there are 1400 ECCDE centres in the country.
Primary Education
Success in education recorded over the last forty years can be measured by the evolution of the number of schools constructed since 1986 and the evolution of enrolments since then. The country has seen public primary schools increase exponentially from 471 in 1986 to 642 schools in 2025, with 60 private primary schools. This translates to 171 public primary schools constructed in an effort to expand access to primary education, thus reducing distances travelled by learners from home to school. The enrolments have tremendously grown from 142 206 in 1986 to a total of 234 021 as of 2025, an increase of 40% of Emaswati children enrolled in primary schools. The increase in the number of students have necessitated a complimentary increase in the number of teachers as well. In 1986 there were 4 290 primary school teachers, and 9 266 in 2025. This translates to 115 % increase in teachers employed and mostly are local and qualified yet in 1986 mostly were expatriates.
In 2019 the country transformed its education from objective based to competency-based education to improve quality and relevance of our education system and align to international standards.
Secondary Education
Growth in secondary schooling has also been a milestone of King Mswati lll’s forty years on the throne. Secondary schools increased from only 100 in 1986 to 296 in 2025, which shows more that 196% increase. One flagship school officially opened in 2024 by His Majesty is Etjendlovu High School in the Shiselweni region. This secondary school was upgraded to meet international standards in a rural setup. This school serves as a benchmark for the type of schools that His Majesty envisions for all Emaswati, hence the order to improve all schools to meet Etjendlovu status. His Majesty’s command to upgrade this school came after two students had performed exceptionally well in a SADC essay writing competition in multiple years.
In 1986 there were 30 489 learners enrolled in secondary schools and presently there are 124 744 learners who have access to this level, translating to a 309% increase. Teachers have also increased from 1 617 in 1986 to 7 646, translating to 372% increase.
The competency-based curriculum has been rolled out in all secondary schools and is meant to improve quality and relevance of our education system. The country continues to rollout Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level and Advanced (A) level in more secondary schools as a response to the clarion call by Emaswati during the Sibaya people’s dialogue.
Non Formal and Adult Education
In the last forty years of His Majesty’s rule, the Government has continued efforts to expand access to education and training, especially general education for the out-of-school and vulnerable youth and adults. Such opportunities are provided through the Sebenta National Institute and Emlalatini Develoment Centre, which offer alternative general education and training. Sebenta National Institute, in particular, is an institution conceived through Sibaya Proclamation and has been sustained ever since to cater for all the learners who may not be in a position to enrol in the ‘normal’ schools due to various reasons. These institutions give students alternatives to access and further their education. This expands every liSwati’s capabilities to reduce poverty, increase participation in the labour market and contribute to the positive effects on health and sustainable development.
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Higher Education
TVET and higher education institutions have also evolved over the years. In 1986 the country had 7 tertiary institutions: 1 university and 6 colleges; and to date there are 47 tertiary institutions, which include 12 public and 35 private. Some of these institutions include Mpaka Vocational Training Centre, Matsapha Police Academy, Nhlangano Agricultural Industrial Centre, Manzini Industrial Training Centre, Siteki Industrial Training Centre.
The coming into effect of the higher education council in 2013 ensured the smooth regulation of the higher education sub sector. His Majesty’s visionary leadership has seen the pronouncement of the establishment of the SADC university of Transformation, which was endorsed by the SADC member states, and provided for with financing. Moreover, the process of upgrading some colleges into university status is in progress, following His Majesty’s directive. They include Ngwane Teachers Training College, William Pitcher Teachers Training College and Eswatini College of Technology (ECOT) while Gwamile VOCTIM will be upgraded into a Polytechnic.
The country has also seen the establishment of specialised tertiary institutions that offer unique programmes essential for the 21st century labour market such as Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and Eswatini Medical Christian University.
Cross cutting initiatives
The country’s education system has embraced inclusive education to ensure access to education for all Emaswati. This has led to the establishment of School for the Deaf High, and other inclusive High Schools built with the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which are Eqinisweni, Boyane, Gamula and Enhlitiyweni. Furthermore, some tertiary institutions have been strengthened to include Special Education Needs (SEN) programmes and specialised laboratories. The SEN programmes have been mainstreamed across the education system.
Following the digital transformation agenda, the Ministry has engaged in a number of e-learning initiatives. For instance, the digitalization of school curriculum through the Eswatini Learning Passport (ELP), a Learning Management System that gives students digital access to educational content in line with government strategy. In addition to this, the ministry has launched the Education Management Information System (EMIS) digital platform that aids in data collection from schools in real-time mode for efficient management and quick interventions.
Guidance and Counselling
Over the past four decades, the ministry institutionalised the Educational Testing, Guidance and Psychological Services (ETGPS) across the school system that integrates life skills education into schooling. These services support the retention of learners, strengthen school capacity to support at-risk learners, as well as provide direct counselling and psychological support to learners.
School Feeding
The ministry has integrated school feeding to both primary and secondary schools ever since the government took over the school feeding programme. This was formalised to promote learner retention in schools. Furthermore, it has enhanced child nutrition and health, reduced malnutrition and hunger while supporting better concentration, learning outcomes and overall development. Beyond the classroom the school feeding programme eases the financial burden on poor household, acting as a vital social safety net for vulnerable families. Schools are also supplementing the school feeding programme through school gardens and farming. A number of schools that participate actively in this programme include Ebenezer Primary in Lubombo, Somnjalose High in Hhohho, Sigcineni High in Manzini and Mlindazwe Primary in the Shiselweni region.
Conclusion
The MOET strongly believe that His Majesty’s four decades on the throne has culminated in a number of positives in the education system. Despite challenges, the education system today boasts of state-of-the-art infrastructure, relevant quality curriculum, a thriving ECCDE sub-sector, a flourishing primary and secondary sub-sector and a promising higher education sub-sector. These achievements in the last forty years underscore the need to continue on this trajectory in the following areas:
- Review of FPE to incorporate pre-primary (Grade 0) and to increase the grants in line with the country’s inflation rate
- Increase Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) grant considering the budget required to effectively operate schools
- Standardise school fees to align with operational demands
- To increase the creation of posts and deployment of teachers from pre-primary up to tertiary levels, taking into consideration new programmes (e.g. CBE, technical and vocational careers) and operations of schools (Deputy Head teachers and Head of Department posts).
- Improve the welfare of teacher by the provision of sufficient housing.
- Strengthening In-service Education and training of teachers by increasing the budget
- Increase maintenance fund for emergency response and rehabilitation of storm damaged schools.
- Strengthen STEM subjects in schools through provision of adequate infrastructure and resource materials
