By Johnathan Paoli
The Western Cape High Court has dismissed an urgent application by the Special Action Committee (SAC) to halt the provincial education department from cutting over 2000 teaching posts.
The application demanded an immediate moratorium on the non-renewal of contracts, pending a ruling from the court to set aside the department’s decision.
Education MEC David Maynier, finance MEC Deidre Baartman and the provincial department were cited as respondents in the application.
Judge Melanie Holderness held that the SAC failed to prove urgency because it had delayed bringing the matter before the court since becoming aware of the announcement earlier in the year.
This follows Maynier’s announcement in August that the province would be cutting 2407 posts for the reappointment of temporary teachers in the 2024/25 financial year following a budget shortfall of R3.8 billion from the National Treasury’s budget cuts.
The SAC had also asked the court to compel the provincial education department and Maynier to consult and start a budgeting process involving all stakeholders to ensure that there was one teacher for every 30 learners in public schools.
The deadline to cut the posts is Tuesday. Cape Town is set to slash 1674 teaching posts, with the remainder being from the rest of the province.
Maynier previously defended his position and said the national government’s decision to not fully fund the 2023 multi-year wage agreement resulted in a massive deficit for provincial education departments.
The Western Cape is not the only province affected by the budget cuts. Some provinces, such as Gauteng, have said that they will make up for insufficient funding by cutting transport and school feeding schemes.
INSIDE EDUCATION
