Lebogang Maile, the Gauteng MEC for education. (Photo: Provided)
AfriForum is not only concerned that the Gauteng Department of Education is going to reconsider its model for the decentralization of municipal services to public schools, but also that Lebogang Maile, the Gauteng MEC of Education, is now trying to cover up his department’s share in schools’ municipal debt.
Maile said at a media conference on Sunday, among other things, that the department is facing several structural challenges.
“These challenges, the core of which are fiscal constraints that have an impact on teaching and learning as well as infrastructure and maintenance, arise from the uneven levels of immigration to the province,” argued Maile.
Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s head of cultural affairs, says it is worrying that the MEC is underemphasizing the department’s own part in the current crises.
“He mentions, among other things, that the problems with maintenance and infrastructure are the result of migration in the province. But the years-long underspending of the department’s budgets for infrastructure development and maintenance is not mentioned, for example.”
Bailey agrees with Maile that the R583.9 million owed to Gauteng municipalities for more than 60 days threatens the future of education in the province.
But a large part of this is the result of the department’s own maladministration, she says.
Alana Bailey, head of cultural affairs at AfriForum. (Photo: Reint Dykema)
“Property tax must be paid by the province to the municipal authorities, not by the schools. Furthermore, the department is in arrears with the payment of the allocations per learner to schools. Outstanding allocations from 2025 were only paid to the schools in January this year and amounts for 2026 that were payable by 15 May are still outstanding.”
Bailey says the department’s intention to reconsider the decentralization of schools is flashing red flags.
“It appears as if the crises for which the department is largely responsible itself, are now attributed to the current devolution of financial powers to schools’ governing bodies.
“If there are schools that do not pay bills on time, the individual governing bodies must be held accountable, and not those of all schools. Many governing bodies’ payments are up to date, but there are problems with the department’s settlement of amounts due. This was the case regarding the recent court case of AfriForum and Wierdapark Primary School against the metro in Tshwane,” explains Bailey.
“Schools that manage their financial affairs responsibly must be given more autonomy, not less.
“The Gauteng Department of Education must not be allowed to distort the facts about its own maladministration in such a way that it becomes an excuse to lay its hands on successful schools’ budgets.”
Lebogang Maile, the Gauteng MEC for education. (Photo: Provided)
‘Education last on Lesufi’s government’s agenda’
Sergio Isa dos Santos, the DA’s spokesperson on education in Gauteng, on Monday said in turn that the department’s acknowledgment that rising municipal rates exceed school allocations simply confirms what the DA has been warning against for a long time – that the department’s school budget cuts are negatively affecting schools.
“The DA has repeatedly warned that schools should not pay the price for government failures, financial mismanagement, poor planning and invoicing disputes. But despite these warnings and the knowledge that schools faced inherited debt, incorrectly calculated rates, over-invoicing and rising municipal costs, the department continued to shift the section 21(1)(d) function to schools without proper funding, support or consultation.
“This proves once again that Prime Minister Panyaza Lesufi’s government puts learners’ education last on its agenda,” he believes.
Dos Santos says quintile 5 schools, also known as no-fee-paying schools, have been hit the hardest, forcing the school governing bodies involved to focus on financial survival and trying to prevent municipal disconnections instead of focusing on teaching and learning.
“The DA reiterates its call for intergovernmental cooperation between the department, municipalities and other stakeholders to prevent schools from reaching a crisis point.”
Dos Santos says his party has started a petition requesting the Gauteng Department of Education to stop school budget cuts. The petition already has more than 16,000 signatures and will be handed over to the Gauteng provincial legislature’s petition committee for consideration on Tuesday.
