The mission of the Free State Department of Education is to provide an education system that is free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children of the Free State Province. The Department's strategic objectives are: promotion of sound corporate governance through sustainable use of resources to provide overall management to the Department, support and related services to educational institutions, and subsidy to independent schools in line with norms and standards; provision of effective and accessible quality basic education to provide effective teaching and learning to all children/learners from Grade 1 to Grade 12, access to quality education for learners with special needs, and expansion and universalisation of Grade R; and provision of relevant and accessible Further Education and Training (FET) programmes to develop skills for economic growth and development, and quality education for adults and out-of-school youth.