The Public Servants Association (PSA) has rejected calls to halve educators’ salaries to enable government to employ more teachers, saying such a move would worsen the pressures already facing the country’s education system.
The union was responding to remarks attributed to the Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt, who reportedly suggested that educators’ salaries should be reduced by 50% to create room in the public purse for the appointment of more teachers.
Sharing his views with the CEO of Lex Libertas Ernst Roets at the KragDag 2026 Expo and Conference on South Africa’s government efficiency and the public service, Roodt said that South Africa’s public servants were being paid hefty salaries. He further claimed that they were underworked and ineffective, adding that they were putting a burden on the economy.
“The core issue with the civil service is that we actually need more police officers and teachers. State employees represent 3% of the South African population but account for 17% of the economy in salaries,” Roodt said.
However, his remarks were quickly condemned by the PSA. The union acknowledged that South Africa urgently needs more educators to tackle overcrowded classrooms and improve teaching and learning, however, cutting the salaries of existing teachers was not the answer.
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PSA’s general manager, Reuben Maleka, said educators were far from overpaid.
“Educators are not overpaid. They work under demanding conditions, often beyond official hours, whilst facing rising costs for medical aid, transport, housing, food, and utilities.”
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Maleka also warned that slashing of salaries would damage morale, discourage skilled professionals from entering the teaching profession and place further financial pressure on already strained households.
The PSA instead called on government to improve the management of public resources and redirect money currently lost through wasteful expenditure, inefficient contracting and unnecessary administrative costs towards frontline education services. It also raised concerns about the continued outsourcing of functions that could, where appropriate, be performed more efficiently within the public service.
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“South Africa cannot improve education by impoverishing educators. PSA calls for increased investment in education, smaller class sizes, improved school infrastructure and stronger support for teachers responsible for educating the country’s children. We further urged government to ensure that public funds were prioritised for frontline service delivery instead of unnecessary administrative overheads and inefficient contracting arrangements,” said Maleka.
The PSA said the country’s education crisis should be addressed through better financial management and stronger oversight of public spending, rather than placing the burden on educators.
- The Public Servants Association (PSA) has rejected the suggestion to halve educators' salaries to hire more teachers, stating it would worsen current pressures in the education system.
- Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt claimed that South African public servants are overpaid and underworked, suggesting salary cuts could free funds for more employees.
- The PSA's general manager, Reuben Maleka, argued that educators are not overpaid and work under demanding conditions while facing rising living costs.
- Maleka warned that cutting salaries would damage teacher morale, discourage new professionals from joining, and increase financial strain on households.
- The PSA called for better financial management, reduced wasteful expenditure, and increased investment in education rather than reducing educators' pay.
