Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube and her deputy, Dr Reginah Mhaule, have committed to taking all necessary steps to stabilise the education system given the budgetary constraints affecting provinces.
Gwarube said this while addressing the media on developments regarding budget cuts in the education sector in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“The deputy minister and I have been in constant engagement with provinces to support them during this challenging fiscal environment,” said Gwarube.
“We have committed ourselves to doing everything we can to stabilise the system and have appealed to provinces to retain the basket of posts in order to not compromise education outcomes.”
She also moved to appreciate the work that the provinces have been doing around the clock to help the sector get to grips with these challenges.
“I have witnessed MECs work tirelessly with their provincial departments to protect teaching and learning in our schools.”
The briefing comes weeks after several provincial departments of education have been vocal about the budgetary pressures they face.
Budget cuts translate into fewer teachers
These, said the minister, have been years in the making due to the aggressive budget cuts, economic stagnation and fiscal mismanagement that are now set to impact schools.
“These budget pressures are not just numbers on a spreadsheet — they translate into fewer teachers, reduced textbooks, and fewer admin support staff, which means teachers spend more time on admin work, thereby reducing learning and teaching time.
“In essence, the very fabric of our children’s future is under threat.”
She explained that provinces like the Western Cape have seen the painful decision to reduce the basket of teaching posts for 2025, a move that may result in fewer educators in classrooms.
“This may mean larger class sizes, reduced individual attention for learners, and ultimately, a risk to the achievement of quality education outcomes.”
She added that unfortunately, other provinces throughout the country are in a similar position, with many desperately working to find ways of avoiding having to top slice budgets for key services like textbooks, admin support and scholar transport programmes.
“We are faced with a pending national crisis, one that affects not just our learners but our teachers, principals, and broader communities.
“It is crucial to understand that this crisis is not confined to one province or one aspect of the education sector. Every province is grappling with these painful choices.”
Provincial education departments will, in the next two to three years, find it increasingly difficult to fund their existing basket of posts and existing programs within the available budget, unless measures are taken proactively to mitigate this risk.
For instance, she said in the 2025/26 financial year, four provincial departments will battle to cover their budgets; in the 2026/27 financial year, five provinces will battle to cover their budgets.
Learner numbers on the rise
In the 2027/28 financial year, seven provinces will not be able to afford their budgets.
“Several provinces have preserved the same post basket for the past three academic years, despite learner numbers increasing, while other provinces have decreased their posts in the past three years. It is important to note that these have been cut in posts but not warm bodies.
“Meaning that no person gets retrenched but rather vacancies are not filled,” she said.
Nationally, the minister highlighted that the number of learners within the education system has increased by approximately 292 820 over the last five years.
Learner/educator ratios have also steadily increased across most provinces.
She explained that an increase in learners’ numbers without increasing the post-basket may affect the quality of teaching, which may soon be reflected in the performance of the system.
Largely, she added that the financial constraints have had the largest impact on educator provisioning, leading to a steady increase in learner/teacher ratios in most provincial education departments.
“Most provincial education departments require between R350-million and R3.8-billion [over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework] to fully fund their respective baskets of posts.
“The numbers are staggering. If we continue down this path, projections indicate that most provincial education departments will not be able to maintain their respective basket of posts,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
