Sadtu leads national march demanding end to austerity in education sector

Teachers belonging to the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) protested against education budget cuts at the National Treasury, Department of Basic Education and Department of Higher Education and Training in Pretoria on Wednesday, 23 April 2025.

The march was part of a global campaign led by Education International under the banner: Go Public! Fund Education. The union argued that the current funding crisis was a direct result of neoliberal policies that prioritised budget cuts over social investment.

Sadtu members protest in Pretoria during a march on 23 April to the offices of the National Treasury, the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training against austerity measures in public education. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)

Sadtu highlighted that schools were struggling with late or insufficient funding for basic operational costs. In many cases, principals were forced to cover essential expenses from their own pockets. A recent union survey revealed widespread challenges, including:

• Increased learner-to-teacher ratios;


• Shortages of classrooms, toilets, and teaching assistants;


• Delayed disbursement of funds for norms and standards;


• Lack of infrastructure, such as libraries, halls, and laboratories;


• Delayed payments for teacher performance evaluations;


• No provision for substitute teachers;


• “Modern slavery” wages for Grade R practitioners; and


• Unreliable scholar transport subsidies.

Educators are also facing deteriorating working conditions. Safety concerns in schools are on the rise, and there is little investment in psychosocial support or teacher wellbeing.

Nomsa Cembi, spokesperson for Sadtu, highlighted that vacant teaching posts were not being filled and substitute teachers were not being appointed when educators went on leave, including maternity leave.

Sadtu members protest in Pretoria on 23 April 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)

“Our government is not hiring substitute teachers, and it is a critical thing. It is not fine that children can be in class without a teacher in front of them. When a teacher goes on leave, there must be a substitute teacher so that learners are not left alone. What is happening is that they are not hiring substitute teachers, and at the end of the day, the teachers that are there have … to take care of those learners [who] have been left alone … that causes a burden for the teachers who are teaching already overcrowded classrooms,” she said.

Cembi said overcrowding in classrooms placed an immense burden on teachers. They were expected to teach, assess and mark assignments – often for as many as four classes, each with 60 to 70 learners. The workload became overwhelming, and the time required to mark that number of scripts was staggering. This not only impacted on the quality of education teachers could provide, but it also affected learners, who missed the individual attention they needed.

Despite teachers doing their best, the sheer number of students makes it almost impossible to offer personalised feedback or focused support. For meaningful learning to take place, teachers need to engage with learners one-on-one, but in many township and rural schools, this simply isn’t possible under current conditions.

‘Crumbling schools, salary delays and rural neglect’

Addressing the crowd outside the Department of Basic Education on Struben Street in Pretoria, Sadtu General Secretary Dr Mugwena Maluleke highlighted challenges facing teachers, including security concerns and overcrowded classrooms.

Sadtu members protest in Pretoria on 23 April 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)

“The memorandum states that our teachers are tired of being killed in front of their students, our teachers are tired of teaching 80 to 100 learners, our teachers are tired of being bullied in their schools, that our TVET lecturers are tired of having no equipment in their colleges, they are tired because of low wages, and teachers are tired because of no payment or pay progression,” he said.

Maluleke said that no department should delay the pay progression to August or September, demanding pay progression in July, or Sadtu would take to the streets again.

“Our infrastructure is rotting. It is so deplorable in our special schools, our members and our children in those schools, they live in conditions which a pig cannot live in. We demand that the infrastructure must be renovated, we must build new schools for our children and our teachers,” he said.

Maluleke also addressed the conditions of schools in rural areas, emphasising that rural people were people, too. Those who taught in rural schools and studied there were also human beings, and as such, they should not be treated any differently.

“When you see [Hoërskool] Waterkloof, that has a swimming pool that is as big as an Olympic swimming pool. Why is there no swimming pool in

our schools? Why is there no equipment in our schools? Why are there no libraries? Why is there no laboratory in our schools? We are saying in our memorandum, this must come to a stop,” he said.

Maluleke condemned criminal elements who were extorting money from teachers, particularly in the Western Cape and Northern Cape.

“We know what’s happening, these mafias come into our schools and demand money from us,” he said.

He said teachers would not tolerate AfriForum’s attempts to block the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act.

Deputy Director-General for Educational Enrichment Services Dr Granville Whittle received the memorandum and said the DBE would reply within 21 days.

DBE admits funding concerns, but says its hands are tied

The DBE has acknowledged challenges facing the education sector and says it has taken necessary and effective steps to address them. However, limited financial resources remain a significant barrier. For the current financial year, the department was allocated just over R33-billion.

Speaking on SABC, DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga admitted that funding was inadequate. He said the department had not received enough money from the Treasury, and given the country’s fiscal constraints, it was unlikely it ever would. Despite these limitations, the department was doing its best to work with the resources it had, said Mhlanga.

Mhlanga highlighted a critical shortage of teachers, noting that overcrowding in classrooms had become a serious concern. While efforts were being made to build more classrooms, the pace of demand was outstripping the department’s ability to respond, due to both space limitations and funding constraints.

According to Sadtu’s Maluleke, billions had been defunded from the education system this year alone, citing Eastern Cape at R3.2-billion, KwaZulu-Natal (R2.8-billion) and Gauteng (R2.5-billion).

“In 21 days, if they don’t respond, our members are ready, our members have always been saying to us let’s go on strike in order to send a very strong message to the department so that they don’t undermine us,” he said. DM