DA accuses department of denying the cut with semantics, while confirming reduced allocations in the legislature
Government schools in “wealthier” areas of Gauteng face slashing cuts to their operational budget from 1 April – the Gauteng government says this is a “realignment” or “stabilisation” because of national budgetary pressures.
Gauteng’s quintile 5 schools face 64% funding blow
The Gauteng department of education (GDE) has denied arrangement amounts to cuts in funding at quintile 5, or former model C public schools, by 64%, pushing back against claims by the DA and insisting the changes amount to a funding realignment driven by national budget pressures.
However, replies provided by the department to questions in the Gauteng legislature, together with official budget allocation tables, show quintile 5 schools are being moved from their funding levels directly to the national minimum funding threshold, resulting in reduced allocations from 1 April.
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A quintile 5 school is a public school ranked among the top 20% wealthiest, serving communities with the highest income, lowest unemployment and highest literacy rates.
Department accused of disguising cuts
DA Gauteng shadow MEC for education Michael Waters said the department was misleading parents and schools by denying the cut with semantics, while confirming reduced allocations in the legislature.
“They can call it a realignment, a stabilisation or whatever buzzword they like,” Waters said. “When schools receive less money in real terms, that is a cut. This is not a gradual downgrade. It is one brutal and devastating cut that takes effect in a single financial year.”
The dispute escalated following the DA’s launch of a public petition opposing the cut. The party said it has already gained traction among parents and school governing bodies. It calls on the provincial government to reverse the funding decision and protect schools from what it describes as a budget shock.
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Waters said the DA calculated the 64% reduction by comparing current quintile 5 operational allocations with the national minimum funding level.
“This is not theoretical,” he said. “Schools have already been notified of their new allocations.”
More than 400 schools are expected to be affected.
Warning of losses in teachers, services and infrastructure
Waters said the impact would be immediate and unavoidable.
“These schools use their operational budgets for basics like security, cleaning, electricity, water, maintenance, libraries, laboratories and internet connectivity,” he said.
“When that funding is cut, schools either pass the costs on to parents, cut services, or both.”
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Waters cited three primary schools in Actonville on the East Rand that would collectively lose R2.2 million under the revised allocations. He said many quintile 5 schools could face annual reductions of between R600 000 and R800 000.
“This could equate to the loss of two to three teachers per school, or the scrapping of critical support services,” he said.
“This could take the shape of downgraded security, sports facilities or a lack of proper libraries.”
GDE blames national budget reductions
The GDE said the funding changes were necessitated by national budget reductions imposed by National Treasury, which resulted in a R444 million shortfall in the current financial year and a projected R160 million shortfall over the medium term.
The department described the changes as an interim measure aligned with the national norms and standards for school funding.
Education MEC Matome Chiloane told the Gauteng legislature that in the 2025/26 financial year, quintile 5 schools would be funded at the quintile 4 adequacy rating, and that from 2026-27, they would receive funding in line with the national minimum threshold, as gazetted.
