Communities in the Lowveld are feeling the strain of a struggling education system, as a new oversight report reveals financial mismanagement, overcrowded schools and declining learner performance.

Residents in rapidly growing areas such as Mbombela are particularly affected, with schools battling overcrowding and infrastructure backlogs.

Concerns about the quality learning

The department has resorted to mobile classrooms to accommodate learners, but many lack basic services, raising concerns about the quality of the learning environment.

This is worsened by the Mpumalanga Department of Education regressing to a qualified audit opinion, with more than R263m in irregular expenditure, and hundreds of officials implicated in a housing allowance scandal, according to the latest Portfolio Committee report.

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The department, which previously received an unqualified audit with findings, was flagged by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) for weak internal controls, poor record keeping, and a lack of consequence management.

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure

Irregular expenditure for the 2024/25 financial year amounted to R263.87m, largely due to non-compliance with supply chain management processes.

An additional R77 000 was recorded as fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

The report also revealed that 459 employees benefited irregularly from housing allowance payments amounting to R9.75m.

Investigations are ongoing

While some funds have been recovered, investigations are ongoing and disciplinary processes have been initiated against implicated officials.

The AGSA further noted that inadequate record keeping prevented auditors from verifying billions in allowance payments, raising serious concerns about financial oversight within the department.

While the province achieved a matric pass rate of 84.9%, the report highlights a worrying trend in lower grades. Learner performance drops sharply after primary school, declining from above 93% in early grades to just 60% in Grade 10 and 65% in Grade 11.

The department attributes this to curriculum pressures, psychosocial challenges among teenagers, and gaps carried over from primary school.

The report paints a picture of a system under pressure, with vacancy rates of 46.95% in administrative offices and 15.01% in schools.

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These shortages, combined with weak internal controls, have been identified as key contributors to poor financial management and service delivery failures.

In response to underperformance and low enrolment, the department is assessing 97 schools for possible closure, with 26 already earmarked for rationalisation.

One school, Moses Magagula Secondary, has already been effectively closed after recording years of 0% matric performance.

Infrastructure challenges continue to affect learning conditions, with delays in school construction projects linked to poor contractor performance and budget constraints.

Overcrowding schools

In high-growth areas such as Mbombela, overcrowding has forced schools to rely on mobile classrooms, many of which lack basic services such as electricity and air conditioning.

The report also raises concerns about early childhood development (ECD) centres, where some facilities lack basic hygiene infrastructure, including age-appropriate toilets. In some cases, centres were found to be using pit latrines, while others lacked teaching materials or failed to properly account for funds received.

The Portfolio Committee has raised concerns about the department’s slow implementation of consequence management, noting that officials responsible for irregular expenditure are often not held accountable.

With financial mismanagement, infrastructure challenges and declining performance in key grades, the report underscores the urgent need for stronger oversight and systemic reform within Mpumalanga’s education sector.

Lowvelder sent pertinent questions to the department of education and is awaiting feedback.