By Thapelo Molefe
Schools across Gauteng are struggling to keep the lights on, maintain water supply and sustain basic services as education funding fails to keep pace with rising municipal tariffs, according to the DA.
The issue was highlighted during a media briefing by Gauteng MEC for Education Lebogang Maile on Sunday, where he acknowledged that some schools were facing severe financial pressure due to “misalignment” between increases in municipal tariffs and annual allocations provided to schools.
Maile said schools were dealing with rising electricity, water, and sanitation costs, while some were also affected by incorrect billing, estimated meter readings and inherited municipal debt.
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“The Constitutionally-enshrined right to basic education must remain non-negotiable, and the conditions that enable the success of this education must be maintained and protected,” Maile said.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, DA Shadow MEC for Education Sergio Isa Dos Santos said the department’s admission confirmed the party’s longstanding warnings that inadequate funding allocations were negatively affecting schools.
According to Dos Santos, many schools are struggling to maintain computer labs, keep electricity connected, ensure access to water and sanitation, and address health and safety risks affecting learners and staff.
“It is unacceptable that it took the department so long to realise that expecting schools to absorb escalating electricity, water, sanitation and operational costs without adequate support was absurd at best and reckless at worst,” he said.
Maile revealed that Gauteng public schools owed municipalities nearly R584 million in debt older than 60 days as of March, with the City of Johannesburg accounting for the largest share at R390.7 million. Schools also owed Eskom R6.32 million.
The MEC said municipalities across Gauteng had increasingly been accused of overcharging schools through incorrect tariffs, estimated readings, unexplained levies and the transfer of historical debt onto school accounts.
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He also warned that service disruptions were directly affecting teaching and learning.
“Schools without electricity cannot operate computer labs, lighting, or administrative systems, while water cuts create sanitation and health risks for learners and staff,” Maile said.
The Gauteng Department of Education said it was now reviewing the decentralisation model, which shifted responsibility for municipal payments from the department to Section 21 schools and their School Governing Bodies.
Maile said the model was originally intended to improve financial autonomy, accountability and faster decision-making at school level, but acknowledged that it had also exposed weaknesses in financial management and governance.
The DA accused the provincial government of shifting responsibility onto schools without adequate funding, support or consultation.
Dos Santos said vulnerable schools, including those serving poorer communities, had been hardest hit, forcing School Governing Bodies to focus on avoiding municipal disconnections instead of prioritising teaching and learning.
The party also criticised the administration of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, saying government failures and poor planning were placing additional pressure on schools.
Meanwhile, the DA formally submitted a petition signed by more than 16,000 Gauteng residents to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, calling for the immediate reversal of what it described as devastating 64% budget cuts to Quintile 5 public schools.
DA Gauteng spokesperson for education Michael Waters said the petition was launched in January after the party visited schools across the province and found that reduced allocations were already affecting infrastructure maintenance, municipal payments, learner support programmes and extracurricular activities.
“School principals and governing bodies have also told us that the situation is becoming financially unsustainable, with schools overwhelmed by rising municipal costs as the Gauteng Department of Education continues to underfund schools and shift more responsibility onto parents and local communities,” Waters said.
The Gauteng Department of Education has disputed the DA’s characterisation of the Quintile 5 funding changes, saying earlier this year that the revised allocations were part of an interim funding realignment to national norms and standards, not a 64% budget cut.
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The department said at the time that it was managing a R444 million shortfall in the current financial year and a projected R160 million shortfall over the 2026 medium-term expenditure framework.
Waters described the petition as one of the largest ever handed over in Gauteng and said it reflected growing public frustration over education funding cuts.
“These cuts are not abstract numbers on a spreadsheet; they directly affect classrooms, learner safety, educational quality, and the future of children,” he said.
The DA has called for stronger cooperation between the Gauteng Department of Education, municipalities and other stakeholders to prevent schools from reaching crisis point.
