The Education HODs of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and North-West should report to the principal’s office immediately.

          Even Grade 1s know that there are consequences for not completing your work. So, what are we to do with provincial education officials and leaders who continue to neglected their jobs?

          “Seven of the nine provincial education departments again chose to withhold taxpayers’ money from public schools. We are of course referring to the resource allocations due to schools in May and November every year. These are statutory payments, not pocket money,” says Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of the school governing body organisation FEDSAS.

          Each public school is allocated an amount per learner in accordance with the National Norms and Standards of School Funding (NNSSF). The amount is determined by the quintile of the school, with no-fee schools in quintiles 1-3 receiving slightly more than quintile 4-5 schools that may charge school fees.

          Only public schools in the Western and Northern Cape received 100% of their allocated amounts. Schools in Gauteng, KZN and the Eastern Cape are yet to see a single cent. In Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West and the Free State only a portion of the amount due was transferred. Provincial education departments may opt to retain the learning and teaching support material (LTSM) component but only if the prescribed process for the appointment of a central supplier was followed, including consultations with school governing bodies.

          “In the Free State the provincial education department took a unilateral decision to withhold the LTSM component without any formal communication to schools. The rights of SGBs were summarily withdrawn. Last week, FEDSAS gave the Free State Education Department 24 hours to confirm in writing that the full amount will be paid to schools. We have met with them since and there is some progress but still no payments. FEDSAS is still considering an urgent court application should the department choose not to reverse the decision,” says Deacon.

          The State’s total NNSSF obligation for 2026 is more than R21 billion. “For education managers these are abstract numbers with lots of zeros. For school managers it is a reality of about R9 per learner per school day in no-fee schools, assuming of course that they receive the money.”

          Deacon says the process to develop a new model for funding and post-provisioning should be finalised urgently. “The system is completely dysfunctional. The current NNSSF model is based on a split of 60% learners in quintile 1-3 schools and 40% in quintiles 4-5. However, according to the latest data around 85% of learners attend quintile 1-3 schools.” 

          Deacon says the NNSSF money only accounts for about 6% of the total education budget. Half of this should have been in schools’ bank accounts by 15 May. With only two provinces making full payments this implies that the bigger part of a budgeted amount of more than R10 billion cannot be financed currently. And the next NNSSF payment deadline is in less then six months.

          “Where is the money? What is it used for? This is more than the trite ‘lack of political will’. It’s time that provincial education departments receive a lesson in financial management from public schools who have to squeeze blood from a stone every day. Give the money to the people who have to face the children who should benefit from it.”