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Minister Siviwe Gwarube looks to February Budget to avert basic education funding crisis

Minister Siviwe Gwarube looks to February Budget to avert basic education funding crisis
Western Cape MEC for education David Maynier. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle)
Lisakanya Venna and Siyabonga Goni
By Lisakanya Venna and Siyabonga Goni
31 Oct 2024
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Enoch Godongwana allocated basic education an extra R376m on Wednesday, but offered nothing to save teacher posts, leaving a R78bn budget shortfall and provincial departments in a bind.

Provincial education departments are grappling with a severe budget shortfall of at least R78-billion next year. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana offered little help in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday, 30 October 2024. 

Godongwana allocated an extra R376-million to the Department of Basic Education, far from what Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube says is needed to solve issues in education, where several provinces have suggested teacher posts could be at risk next year.

gwarube education godongwana Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)



The finance minister reportedly told journalists ahead of his budget speech that the possible crisis in education was “self-inflicted”. The additional R376-million will mostly go towards the rapid school infrastructure roll-out programme and to repair schools damaged by floods. 

Gwarube’s spokesperson Lukhanyo Vangqa told Daily Maverick that the minister welcomed the MTBPS and the additional R376-million. 

However, Vangqa said, “Our analysis conducted in the Council of Education Ministers in September shows that the sector requires between R78-billion and R112-billion in additional funds to stay above the red line.”

Gwarube has had talks with Godongwana and Treasury officials to impress upon them the dire financial situation of the education sector.

Vangqa said there were no additional funds for costs of employment as “such allocations are allocated during the February budget speech and the minister looks forward to the minister of finance prioritising the education sector to avert a potential funding crisis in provincial education departments”.

About 2,400 teacher posts will be cut in Western Cape in 2025 while 663 teacher posts are at risk in the Northern Cape.

Responding to the MTBPS, public interest law group SECTION27 said education remained underfunded.

“We are concerned about the government’s commitment to education reforms. Despite minor adjustments to address flood damage in the Western Cape, the basic education budget remains largely unchanged, perpetuating nominal and real budget cuts proposed earlier in the year.

“This 0.4% cut, equivalent to a R1.2-billion reduction from R324.5-billion to R323.3-billion, will likely continue to constrain provincial education departments’ ability to provide essential resources such as scholar transport, stationery and learning materials,” said SECTION27.

Gwarube reaction


Gwarube said in an interview with eNCA that her department still wanted money for teacher jobs.

“We will not be able to sustain the certain services that we are able to sustain if we don’t get the additional funding that we need. We note that this was just an adjustment budget, but we cast our eyes to February and are committed to working together with the Treasury to make sure that we get the injection that we need to save teachers,” she said.

In a statement following the speech, she said, “While the allocations represent steps in the right direction, the budget pressures faced by provincial education departments continue to pose a significant threat to the delivery of quality education. These pressures have been years in the making due to progressive budget cuts, economic stagnation and fiscal mismanagement across government.

“Ultimately, education is the foundation of a thriving economy, equipping young people with the skills necessary to become qualified and ultimately contribute to the economy. It must, therefore, feature as a critical area of intervention in the coming 2025/26 budget allocations by the National Treasury.”

Read more: Education budget cuts — Gwarube targets graft, SOE bailouts, seeks urgent finance minister meeting

Western Cape MEC ‘disappointed’


education maynier Western Cape MEC for education David Maynier. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle)



Western Cape MEC for education David Maynier told Daily Maverick he welcomed the confirmation of additional funding for school infrastructure, which had to be spent on building urgently needed new schools.

“However, we are disappointed that no additional funding was provided to provincial education departments for teachers’ salaries, which will increase class sizes and negatively affect learning outcomes,” said David Maynier.

He said he looked forward to engaging more with the National Treasury regarding the fiscal emergency and its impact on provincial education departments across South Africa.

The Western Cape Education Department is currently faced with a budget shortfall of R3.8-billion for next year.

Read more: Call to action against Western Cape teacher job cuts, while MEC Maynier says situation is ‘critical’

Unions’ perspective 


The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) has expressed disappointment with the MTBPS, citing inadequate education funding.

“As a union in the education sector, we are deeply disappointed that the minister did not speak to the pending retrenchment of 2,400 teachers in the Western Cape and other cost-cutting measures in some provincial departments of education as these will have a negative impact on the accessing and provision of quality public education,” said Sadtu.

“With an average growth of 4.7% between 2024 and 2028 [funding] appears inadequate to address the newly mandated Grade R attendance, a core tenet of the recently enacted Bela Bill,” it continued.

“Additionally, Grade R teachers who face unequal conditions of service compared to their public education colleagues must be brought under standardised employment terms to uphold quality public education.”

National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) executive director Basil Manuel said he was also disappointed with Godongwana’s MTBPS.

“We are disappointed that after all the attempts by many people besides the teacher unions, [for] the minister to try and sort of claw back the money that has been taken out of the education budget, there was absolutely no indication that there’s any help coming.

“In fact, what is going to happen is that eight of the nine provinces are going to overspend on their budgets, and the only province that has done something is Western Cape, where it is now actively cutting off the number of teachers,” said Manuel.

Read more: ‘The system is going to collapse’ – Union warns Western Cape over plans to slash 2,400 teaching posts

Prospective teachers worried


Boipelo Tladi, a fourth-year education student at the Central University of Technology, shared her uncertainty about her career choice.

“As a student who is currently doing fourth year in B.Ed (Bachelor of Education), I am very disappointed and discouraged by our current country's budget constraints as it has simply shown to have limited funding in the educational sector.”

“The minister of education is not giving us hope for the future as prospective teachers. We are currently busy with our exams right now but it is very hard to study for something you know you may not find employment for, at least for the next three years. The thought of the tight job market that we already have causes more anxiety about finding any employment after graduating.”

“It is disheartening because now we are not sure if we should finish what we have started and hope for the best. The whole ordeal makes me wonder if it is too late to explore other alternative careers just to increase my chances of employment,” Tladi said. DM

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