While schools and teachers prepare for the new academic year, several Newcastle schools face a different reality: bigger classes, fewer teachers and growing uncertainty.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has introduced new Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) for 2026. The PPN process – which determines how many teachers are allocated to each public school – will have a direct impact on staffing levels and, ultimately, classroom conditions.

An administrative official from Bumbisizwe Special School confirmed that the school was informed their teaching staff will decrease from 32 to 30 teachers in 2026.

As a school for learners with physical disabilities, Bumbisizwe now faces the prospect of not having enough teachers to cover essential subjects.

What may seem like a small reduction on paper has a far greater impact on a specialised school such as this.

A document issued by the Department of Education states that “schools are given five (5) days to contest their PPN 2026”. However, when Bumbisizwe raised its concerns, the response it received was that it “will have to use what it has next year.”

What it will have to use what it has are students cramped in a space not designed for an overcrowded classroom occupied by students with physical disabilities.

Moreover, making it extremely difficult for the remaining teaching staff to handle the masses, included the challenges accompanied by wheelchairs, walking sticks, crutches, etc.

An official, who wished to remain anonymous, from a Newcastle school catering for special needs learners said their staff would decrease from 41-31.

“Most parents cannot afford school fees, as they are subsidised by the government,” commented the source.

In addition, unlike many other schools, this school only has a handful of staff paid for by the governing body.

With many learners suffering from learning difficulties, such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD, “there are also children who cannot speak English, as they have never been in school to learn the language; together with some student being enrolled in school for the first time at 16 years old,” the source commented. Adding that pressure of dealing with a higher teacher-learner ratio will compromise learning and teaching.

Furthermore, ‘the teacher-loss has an immense impact, causing schools whose PPN remains the same for 2026, to get involved, protesting with us on an Departmental and national level.’

A KZN Education Department memo to the school stated that, ‘weightings that apply to learners based on their barriers to learning do not apply if they are based on their curriculum, school phase, instruction media or the fact that both primary and senior secondary phases are provided for’.

Despite repeated attempts by the Advertiser, officials from the Department of Education – both locally and nationally – have remained tight-lipped on the issue.

For many schools, larger classes and reduced staffing levels now appear to be the new reality for the foreseeable future.

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