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The Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) admission that rising municipal tariffs outpace school allocations confirms the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) longstanding warning that the department’s school budget cuts are negatively affecting schools. As a result, schools struggle to run computer labs, keep the lights on, and water taps running, and protect learners and staff from serious health and safety hazards. This late realisation by the department is cold comfort for fee-exempting schools who have been devasted by cruel decision to cut to their budgets by 64%.

During yesterday’s media briefing on schools’ electricity, water disruptions and the decentralisation model, the Gauteng MEC for Education, Lebogang Maile, admitted that there was a “misalignment” between rising municipal tariffs and the allocations provided to schools.

That schools have been forced to absorb escalating electricity, water, sanitation, and operational costs without adequate support shows a reckless failure of planning and leadership at the GDE.

The DA has repeatedly warned that schools should not pay the price for government failures, financial mismanagement, poor planning and billing disputes. Despite these warnings and the knowledge that schools faced inherited debt, incorrect tariffs, overbilling and rising municipal costs, the department still shifted the Section 21(1)(d) function onto schools without proper funding, support, or consultation. This proves once again that Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government places learners' education last on its agenda.

Quintile 5 schools, also known as no-fee paying schools, have been hit the hardest, forcing their School Governing Bodies (SGB) to focus on financial survival and attempt to avert municipal disconnections instead of focusing on teaching and learning.

The DA reiterates its call for intergovernmental cooperation of the GDE, municipalities, and other stakeholders to prevent schools from reaching a crisis point. We have also launched a petition calling on the GDE to stop school budget cuts, which has already received more than 16,000 signatures. The petition will be handed over to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Petitions Committee for consideration tomorrow.

The DA is the only party that would have acted decisively to stop this crisis. Under a DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government, we will enforce cooperation of the department, municipalities, and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that no learner’s education suffers because of government failures and that teaching and learning continue uninterrupted in every school.

Issued by Sergio Isa Dos Santos MPL - DA Shadow MEC for Education