Massive school funding cuts threaten learning quality and teacher jobs

A new report released by the Solidarity Research Institute shows that the allocation per learner for quintile 5 schools has dropped from around R900 to R315, which comes down to a decrease of 65%.

Schools with the most resources and parents who earn good salaries are placed in quintile 5 and then the quintile categories are graded from 5 to 1, based on the material wealth of the families. Quintile 1 would be the poorest schools.

More than 750 schools will be affected.

Affected schools in Pretoria are mainly primary schools, said the education researcher and author of the report, Johnell Prinsloo.

“Pretoria schools were informed by emails and letters as well as at district meetings about these cuts,” confirmed Prinsloo.

According to the report, notice of this cut in subsidy was only issued by the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) after the budget deadline of September 30, which seriously disrupted planning and budgeting processes at schools.

The report was based on data from a survey by the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS), which indicates an education system in need.

Statistics were mostly obtained from Gauteng schools, but Prinsloo confirmed that the findings would not be much different if more schools countrywide took part.

“Schools indicate that only emergency maintenance work can be done, and major repairs or improvements are being postponed.”

“Infrastructure is beginning to deteriorate. Buildings, sewage systems and roads can no longer be repaired.

“The general impression is that the reduction in allocations seriously compromises both physical maintenance and staff sustainability,” said Prinsloo.

The report shows that 67% of schools countrywide have received a lower allocation for 2026.

Prinsloo said about 80% of schools are struggling to pay for basic services such as water and electricity.

What really concerns her is that several schools report that their funds are only enough to cover their expenses for a few more months.

She pointed out that in Pretoria, a lot of jobs were cut, mostly at primary schools.

According to Prinsloo, many schools countrywide have lost between one and eight jobs, resulting in larger classes and pressure on timetables.

“In some cases, the learner-teacher ratios have risen above 1:40. This places a tremendous burden on teachers and has a clear negative impact on the quality of learning,” she warned.

There is also widespread confusion and frustration about the late and inadequate communication from the GDE on the cuts.

“The pattern of late notifications, inadequate refunds and administrative irregularity has led to widespread distrust in the allocation system,” said Prinsloo.

According to her, the feedback points to a financial system that is not keeping up with growing costs and learner numbers, and one where the burden is increasingly shifted to parent communities.

In the report, schools describe the current situation as unsustainable and warn that without immediate intervention, the quality of education in Gauteng is seriously at risk.

“More than 33% of schools indicated that their finances are seriously under pressure, and only 8% of schools indicated that their financial position is healthy.”

She noted that more schools need to hire teachers through school governing bodies (SGBs), which puts extra pressure on school budgets and fundraising efforts.

At present, research shows that the average number of SGB posts stands at 25 per school.

What concerns Prinsloo is that the research shows that classes are getting substantially bigger and, in some cases, exceed 45 learners per class.

“This can lead to the negativity of staff members as their workload becomes almost unmanageable.”

According to Prinsloo, the report’s findings indicate an urgent need to rethink funding, communication, and collaboration between schools and authorities.

“Based on the data, we propose several recommendations to address the financial and administrative challenges in public education,” she said.

These recommendations include, among others, the urgent resumption of consultation processes with SGBs to review the 65% cut in subsidies and the timely communication of allocations and job provisions to schools.

In addition, the Department of Basic Education should review the current national norms and standards for school funding, as the existing quintile classification often does not reflect actual socio-economic circumstances.

Prinsloo further emphasised: “An accelerated and transparent disbursement scheme for waivers is essential to stabilise schools’ cash flow and plan budgets more reliably.”

GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed that since the 2021 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the departments have been getting budget cuts due to fiscal consolidation by the National Treasury.

“The department has, for this reason, started to experience pressure on subsidies, which resulted in a shortfall in the current year.

“Consequently, to contain the pressure, the department has revised its decision to fund quintile 5 schools and adhere to the published adequacy amount.”

He explained that the overall teaching post numbers are protected by the department.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok.