Gauteng's R68bn education budget is insufficient to address key issues, warn experts

Daily Maverick

6 days ago

Experts have warned that despite the Gauteng Department of Education budget increasing to R68bn for the 2025/26 financial year, it is not enough to address critical challenges such as the rapid increase in learners, infrastructure backlogs and systemic inequalities.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has announced a R68-billion budget for the 2025/2026 financial year designed to drive improvements across the province's education sector. Key priorities include addressing long-standing infrastructure backlogs, expanding access to Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes and improving teacher retention and recruitment.
Speaking at a post-budget vote media briefing at Jeppe Girls High School on 20 July, Education MEC Matome Chiloane emphasised the transformative intent behind the allocation. Media
'This R68-billion allocation reflects our dedication to building a generation of skilled, confident and capable learners who will drive South Africa's economic growth and social transformation,' he said.
Chiloane said the budget supported key initiatives such as the Strategic Framework for Educational Excellence, the expansion of ECD programmes, school nutrition, scholar transport, psychosocial support and upgrading infrastructure. These efforts aim to provide quality, inclusive and future-focused education by universalising Grade R, ensuring school safety and addressing social barriers to learning.
It falls short
Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) researcher Daniel Peter Al-Naddaf said the budget increase fell short when adjusted for actual spending and inflation. While the GDE's nominal 4.9% increase to R68-billion seems substantial, he explained that this figure was compared to the initial 2024 budget of R65.8-billion, not the actual R66.14-billion spent. As a result, the increase over last year's actual spending is closer to 2.8%.
'The GDE is not planning to increase spending by 4.9%,' said Al-Naddaf, adding that projected increases for the following years fall below inflation.
'This means that in real terms, learners will receive less each year, not more. Gauteng has one of the highest rates of learner population growth in the country, and all provinces have experienced austerity budgeting for more than a decade. Any increase is welcomed, but this is not at all the kind of major increase necessary to rectify years of underspending,' he said.
Matshidiso Lencoasa, a budget policy analyst and researcher at SECTION27, underscored the significance of provincial education budgets, which often receive far less public attention than the national budget.
'Most education functions occur at the provincial level. It's crucial for people, especially parents and community members within each province, to actively look at these budgets and monitor what is being allocated. Without this oversight, important needs can easily be overlooked or underfunded,' she said.
Lencoasa said that while the increase appeared meaningful, it only roughly aligned with inflation and fell short of what was needed when factoring in population growth and learner migration.
'Gauteng is an urban province that is quite well-resourced, but it has been struggling for years with issues like overcrowded classrooms and vacant teacher posts. Most of this increase will simply cover the rising cost of living and operational expenses, but it doesn't tackle the core issues like overcrowded classrooms, vacant teacher posts and crumbling school infrastructure,' she said.
Concerns over deepening inequality and underspending
Al-Naddaf warned that the budget risked deepening disparities as a massive 8.3% cut in spending on goods and services over the next three years threatens critical support. Areas affected include learner transport, nutrition, information and communication technology, inclusive education, municipal services, and learning and teaching support materials.
'Some of the most severe inequalities among Gauteng's learners are precisely in their access to food, transport, technology and inclusive services and materials. While there are some promising initiatives, like collaboration with the Department of Social Development to provide uniforms and other materials to indigent learners, the budget generally risks worsening systemic inequalities in a province where many learners already struggle to get to school, eat at least one meal a day, and access learning materials and support,' he said.
Lencoasa said provincial education departments faced difficult trade-offs when balancing critical needs with a stretched budget.
'They have to constantly decide between providing scholar transport, textbooks for learners, and stationery, all essential but competing priorities. Even with these increased allocations, the budget remains insufficient. It's still a long way from truly equipping the education system to provide quality basic education to all learners in the province,' she said.
Lencoasa expressed concern that underspending and weak consequence management continued to plague education departments despite increased allocations.
'Unfortunately, underspending persists across various departments, including education, which is alarming given the desperate need for funding to improve schools and classrooms,' she said.
'Money being returned to Treasury or spent irregularly highlights inefficiencies. The school nutrition programme frequently faces shutdown threats due to tender and supply issues, underscoring systemic failures.'
Lencoasa lamented that while reports flag irregular expenditure and mismanagement, those responsible are rarely named or held to account. Effective consequence management requires naming and shaming, followed by enforcement and remediation. Without this, poor service delivery and corruption will undermine education outcomes.
ECD and Grade R funding is inadequate
Gauteng's education budget includes a sizeable allocation of R734-million dedicated to universalising Grade R access, expanding ECD programmes, and training practitioners to NQF Level 6. Lencoasa acknowledged the department had made progress in early childhood education, but said it remained inadequate.
'The current allocations are nowhere near enough to support formal registration of ECD centres or effectively expand Grade R,' she said.
Al-Naddaf voiced similar sentiments, noting that the funding increase of about 10.1% for Gauteng's ECD budget to R2.6-billion was encouraging, but accounted for less than 4% of the department's total budget.
'This budget will not ensure universal access to Grade R, and this is primarily because National Treasury has refused to provide provincial education departments the necessary funding to do so in 2025.
This [R2.6-billion] is nowhere near enough to universalise Grade R, nor to provide quality, holistic ECD services to all young children in Gauteng. The GDE itself has told Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Basic Education that it does not have enough funding to provide universal Grade R, despite it being compulsory nationwide since January this year.
'While Treasury has made a provisional allocation of R10-billion for ECD nationally, this is specifically for subsidies at ECD centres, and not for universalising Grade R,' he said.
Alternative funding and fiscal reform
Lencoasa highlighted the urgent need for alternative revenue-raising mechanisms to bridge these gaps. She pointed to large sums lost via uncollected taxes, stating that better collection could unlock significant resources without raising the burden on ordinary citizens.
She also questioned the effectiveness of corporate tax incentives designed to stimulate employment, suggesting their reform could free funds for education. Moreover, she advocated for redistributive taxes, like luxury and inheritance taxes, to generate equity-enhancing revenues for the sector.
'The Budget Justice Coalition has actively advocated for these alternatives, stressing that political will at national and provincial levels, especially in economically active provinces like Gauteng, is essential to unlocking sufficient and sustainable funding for education,' said Lencoasa. DM