Trouble coming for teachers in South Africa’s richest province
Trouble is brewing for teachers and schools in Gauteng as funding cuts could hit around 400 schools across the province.
According to Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS), the provincial education department plans to significantly reduce funding to quintile 5, or former Model C, schools.
There is some confusion around the Gauteng Department of Education’s intention to cut funding, with the department categorically denying that it plans to do so, saying it is a realignment exercise.
However, Deacon said official information tells a very different story.
“In replies provided to the provincial legislature, together with the official budget allocation tables, what it shows is that the schools are being moved from their funding levels directly to the national minimum funding threshold. That could see a reduction of up to 64% come 1 April.”
While Gauteng is currently the only province implementing such changes, Deacon warned that it may not remain an isolated case.
“It is only Gauteng that is doing this at the moment, but we might see similar moves from the other remaining eight provinces.”
The financial implications for schools are big. Deacon said around 400 schools out of the 2,000 in Gauteng—about 20%— could be affected.
“This year it should have been R920 per student, and now they’re only going to get R315. So it’s R600 per learner less per year.”
While subsidies account for a smaller share of income at quintile 5 schools, the absolute loss is still substantial.
“If you’ve got 1,000 learners in your school and suddenly there’s R600,000 less in your budget, somebody must pay for that. It will be the parents, or you need to cut expenses,” he said.
Deacon warned that staffing would be the biggest pressure point. “The staff component will consist of approximately 60% of the expenses,” he said.
Increasing fees is not an option
If schools cannot absorb the shortfall, “they will start to look at activities or maybe subject choices.”
Ultimately, he said, the learners will definitely get the short end of this. Increasing school fees is also not realistic.
South Africa already experiences financial difficulties in all our communities, with bad debt rising and applications for exemption from school fees.
Compounding the problem, Deacon criticised the timing of the announcement. “The Gauteng Department made that announcement too late,” he said.
He noted that schools had already completed their budget processes. “Schools will have to redo the budget, and you simply cannot increase your school fees in the middle of the year. There will be an uproar in school communities.”
While FEDSAS does not plan to litigate, Deacon said it will challenge the department’s narrative.
“They are simply claiming we’re paying the basic amounts as set out in the national norms and standards,” he said.
“That’s correct, but it’s also not truthful from their side to say we’re not cutting the budget to those schools.”
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