Gauteng’s subsidy cuts to independent schools amid R317 million underspending
Statement by Andile Jabavu, Provincial Secretary of the UDM in Gauteng
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) in Gauteng is deeply alarmed by the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) decision to slash subsidies to independent schools by 20% for secondary and 18% for primary institutions, while simultaneously failing to spend R317 million of its 2024 education budget. This decision is not only fiscally unjustifiable but also morally reprehensible in a province grappling with widespread educational inequality.
Independent schools, particularly low-fee institutions, play a vital role in absorbing learners who would otherwise be left behind by a public system strained by overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and uneven quality. These schools often serve poor and working-class communities, offering a beacon of hope to parents who seek quality education for their children in the absence of viable public alternatives. To cut funding to these institutions while returning funds to Treasury reflects a glaring disconnect between the department’s policy intentions and the lived realities of learners and educators.
What is particularly disconcerting is that this cut affects the most vulnerable - children in low-fee independent schools that operate on razor-thin margins. It undermines the constitutional imperative of access to quality education and violates the principle of equity that should guide all public funding decisions. The GDE’s explanation, that the funds were redirected to fee-free public schools, raises more questions than answers. Why must support for one group of disadvantaged learners come at the expense of another? Is the Department not capable of simultaneously planning for both?
Moreover, the underspending of R317 million is a symptom of administrative inefficiency and poor planning. This is not merely a missed financial target; it is a failure to deliver services, provide resources, and invest in the future of Gauteng’s learners. Underspending on education in a province where schools still battle with infrastructure backlogs, teacher shortages, and over-enrolment is both inexcusable and an indictment on leadership.
The UDM calls on MEC Matome Chiloane to account to the people of Gauteng:
• Why were these funds not spent in a province with so many glaring education needs?
• What processes were followed in deciding on the subsidy reductions, and were affected schools consulted?
• What are the GDE’s contingency plans to prevent low-fee independent schools from collapsing under the weight of these cuts?
We further urge the Provincial Legislature to institute a full review of GDE’s budgeting processes and to ringfence funding for low-fee independent schools in future fiscal years. The UDM also calls on the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education in Parliament to initiate an inquiry into provincial education departments that repeatedly underspend while simultaneously cutting essential services.
Education is not a favour bestowed by government; it is a right enshrined in our Constitution. No child should be punished because their school does not fall neatly into the public sector box. The real question is not whether we can afford to support independent schools; it is whether we can afford to lose the contributions they make to an already overburdened education system.
