The department confirmed that about 240 schools were affected by electricity disconnections.
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About 240 public schools were affected by electricity disconnections in 2026, with the Gauteng Education Department confirming that the disruptions resulted in 8,925 lost school days.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has confirmed that pupils across the province lost 8 925 school days in 2026 because of electricity disconnections at public schools.
The figure was contained in a written reply by Education MEC Lebogang Maile to questions tabled by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
The department also confirmed that about 240 schools were affected by electricity disconnections, with the main cause identified as non-payment by schools.
Speaking to The Citizen, GDE spokesperson Onwabile Lubhelwana said: “The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) confirms that 8925 school days was lost due to electrical disconnection in schools around the province.”
The department said affected schools collectively owed R52.65 million to municipalities and other electricity service providers.
GDE says schools remained operational
Lubhelwana said the department did not dispute that electricity cuts had affected schools.
“Majority of the schools remained operational despite the disconnection; however, there were minimal disruptions for schools that are utilising the smartboards and other electronic devices,” he said.
The DA has used the figure to intensify its criticism of the department’s oversight of school finances.
DA Gauteng education spokesperson Michael Waters said the party would submit the latest legislative replies to the Public Protector as supplementary evidence in its ongoing complaint against the GDE over electricity disconnections at public schools.
Waters said the number of lost school days showed that the electricity cuts were not isolated incidents.
“This staggering figure is contained in a written reply by the Gauteng Department of Education MEC (GDE), Lebogang Maile, to questions tabled by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL),” he said.
DA questions financial oversight
According to Waters, the electricity disconnections exposed shortcomings in the department’s oversight of school finances.
He argued that electricity cuts could disrupt the use of smartboards, computers, photocopiers, and internet connectivity, as well as affect security systems at schools.
The DA has also raised concerns about the department’s ability to identify financially distressed schools before essential services are cut.
Waters said the department had admitted in a separate legislative reply that it did not maintain a central register of schools’ outstanding debts to service providers, including the amounts owed, the duration of the debts or the reasons for the outstanding balances.
“How can the department intervene before schools lose essential services if it doesn’t know which are financially distressed?” Waters asked.
The DA said it wanted stronger financial oversight and systems to track school debts.
The GDE, meanwhile, has confirmed the scale of the electricity disruptions but said the majority of affected schools remained operational despite the cuts.
