Pierneef Primary School’s BackaBuddy fundraiser. (Photo: BackaBuddy)
The Pierneef Primary School in Pretoria with its approximately 500 learners warns that the school is struggling to keep its doors open after funding was drastically reduced by the Gauteng Department of Basic Education.
According to Jonelia Theron, chairman of the school’s governing body, the department’s decision to cut funding to quintile 5 schools has caused a serious financial crisis for the school.
The department already said last year that funding for many Gauteng quintile 5 schools would be almost halved – from more than R800 per learner per year to R315 from this year.
However, Theron says the financial pressure started earlier.
“On top of that, we haven’t even received the department’s funding for 2025. Essentially, therefore, the cuts already started last year,” she says.
The primary school has meanwhile launched a BackaBuddy fundraiser to try to stabilize the school financially.
“The school hopes to raise R3 million to secure staff positions and ensure the continued existence of the school,” says Theron.
The school, an Afrikaans public school that teaches learners from gr. R to gr. 7 serves, has 34 teaching posts, of which more than half are already governing body posts.
According to Theron, large outstanding school fund bills make the situation even more difficult.
“Parents simply cannot bear the full burden any more. They now essentially have to compensate for the state’s failure to properly fund schools. They cannot afford it,” she says.
The financial crisis means that the school may have to start layoffs already on Monday.
“This will mean that dedicated and experienced teachers will lose their jobs. We will end up with overcrowded classrooms,” warns Theron.
The school is making an urgent appeal to parents, former pupils, businesses and the wider community to help prevent jobs being lost and the stability of the school being compromised.