School principals go into personal debt while waiting for R971 million from South Africa’s richest province

Schools across Gauteng are waiting to receive R971 million in funding from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), months after it was due to be paid.

The GDE owes these schools a collective R971 million in Norms and Standards funding, with the delays in payment beginning to affect their continued operations.

As a result of the delays, the GDE has admitted that some of the schools are now struggling to purchase essential teaching materials and implement planned school programmes.

Provincial education departments are required by law to make the first payments to schools by 15 May, and the second payment by 15 November.

The GDE’s deteriorating financial situation has now come under scrutiny following its meeting with the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Education Portfolio Committee.

The GDE was due to pay R2.08 billion to 3,647 schools across Gauteng in May. Only R1.11 billion of this had been paid to date, leaving R971 million outstanding.

The province’s special needs schools have reportedly been hit the hardest, with 129 public special needs schools in Gauteng still awaiting R250.9 million.

While these schools were set to receive R501.8 million in the May tranche, they have received half of this amount to date.

While the Gauteng Provincial Treasury previously held substantial reserves to provide for timely Norms and Standards cash allocations, these reserves have reportedly been depleted.

Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Michael Waters has called on the Gauteng Provincial Government to account for the state of its finances and the delays in school funding.

“Every day that this funding remains unpaid, the financial pressure on schools intensifies,” Waters said. “Schools still have financial obligations to meet.”

“These responsibilities do not disappear when government payments are delayed. Instead, schools are forced to find ways to keep operating while waiting for the funding they are owed.”

Waters said the current crisis could have been easily avoided had the Gauteng Provincial Treasury maintained its reserves as a financial buffer in the event of delayed payments.

He also said teachers and learners should not have to worry about whether the school has enough money to pay for essential services and school programmes.

Gauteng Finance MEC Nkululeko Dunga confirmed to TimesLIVE that the Provincial Treasury had advised the GDE to delay payments due to cash-flow constraints.

School principals across the province have reportedly taken on personal debt to procure necessary supplies and materials as they continue to wait for funding.

One principal in Tshwane said this had placed a strain on his personal finances and negatively affected his credit score.