Cabinet on Wednesday gave its full support to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga's initiative to introduce changes to the national curriculum statement.

These changes flowed from the report by a panel of experts appointed to review the curriculum statement, government spokesperson Themba Maseko told a media briefing on Thursday.

The panel recommended developing a coherent five-year plan to improve teaching and learning across the schooling system, streamlining and clarifying policies, clarifying the role of subject advisors, addressing teacher workload and administrative burden, assessment, transition and overload in the intermediate phase, learning and teaching support material, and teachers and training.

Motshekga will make a statement on the curriculum changes in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon.

Maseko said Cabinet believed the changes would go a long way towards improving the quality of education in all schools as they addressed the concerns from teachers, parents, pupils and academics.

Cabinet had also approved the extension of the concession to treat Rwandese students studying at South African universities as home students for purposes of fees, he said.

The three-year concession would apply to a hundred students who were on the Rwandese government funded scholarship programme studying science, commerce and engineering.

The concession would cost approximately R5,5-million over the three-year period. This concession would be part of an agreement to be signed between the higher education and training ministry and the Rwandese authorities.

Universities would be informed accordingly, Maseko said.