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By Johnathan Paoli
The nation’s learners and teachers are keenly awaiting to hear what is happening on the basic education front this week, with a number of meetings planned on the impact of budgetary cuts in education departments across the country.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and her senior officials are expected to appear in at least two major meetings. Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education is meeting on Tuesday and the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) on Thursday.
The budget cuts have created a challenging situation for many provincial education departments, which could impact the quality of education, including reducing teaching positions and cutting back on essential services.
The Western Cape is expected to cut 2400 teaching jobs by the beginning of next year.
Western Cape MEC David Maynier has confirmed that that despite implementing a R2.5 billion budget cut, the province still faced a R3.8 billion budget shortfall over the next three years.
KwaZulu-Natal has announced its inability to afford 11,092 teaching posts, following a budget shortfall of R4 billion.
The provincial government agreed to a 7.5% wage increase for teachers and other public servants without increasing the provincial budget accordingly.
KwaZulu-Natal education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambisaid that while the recent budget cuts certainly exacerbated the situation, the crisis has been six years in the making.
“After all, the department is all about teaching and learning, but you end up only having educators with no equipment. In some instances, it is because we can’t buy those things. A lot of money goes into their payment,” Mahlambi said.
Mpumalanga has to deal with a shortfall of R876 million, while the North West has to source R485 million.
The Eastern Cape has experienced a decline of 22.6% from over R4.6 billion to R3.5 billion due to fiscal consolidation.
The loss of funding comes despite MEC Fundile Gadehighlighting the urgent need for infrastructure development within schools in the province.
“A well-built school infrastructure promotes a positive learning environment, improves overall school quality, influences the educational experience and results in better educational outcomes,” Gade said.
Meanwhile, Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloanehas warned that budgetary pressures are likely to impact scholar transport, school furniture, school nutrition, infrastructure, personnel and other subsidies.
Chiloane confirmed that over 3000 teacher posts were at risk.
He said his department has been working tirelessly to find means to secure public school teachers’ jobs, while also functioning optimally with a smaller fiscal budget.
“Look, all provinces are affected, we’re looking at around 3,400 teachers. Unfortunately, there will be a cut in certain programmes, scholar transport and school nutrition… we are cutting everywhere to ensure that we keep all our school educators,” Chiloane said.
The country’s economy has been under significant strain in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, a recession and deteriorating infrastructure and other support structures.
The government has had to prioritise spending in critical areas such as healthcare and social welfare, with the reallocation of funds resulting in reduced budgets for all sectors.
There have been ongoing issues with inefficiencies and mismanagement within the education sector, which has led to calls for better financial oversight and accountability, which in turn, have influenced budgetary decisions.
The provincial education departments have called for partnerships between the government and private sector to supplement education funding.
Many have advocated for exploring alternative funding mechanisms and reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies which could free up resources to be redirected towards essential educational services, including optmisingprocurement processes and reducing waste.
Minister Gwarube said the CEM meeting would include the provincial departments providing analysis on the impact of the cuts.
A provincial analysis reports would form the basis of the minister’s discussion with the National Treasury and the Finance Minister.
“I am working very hard to ensure we have a full understanding of the impact of the budget cuts in the sector. I am determined to work with the Treasury to ensure that we cushion the blow on frontline services in the sector,” Gwarube said.
The minister called for placing data-driven evidence before the Finance Minister to find innovative ways to avoid further cuts to the education budget.
INSIDE EDUCATION