Why the R2bn allocation for KZN Education won’t fix the crisis

The KZN Department of Education said a sustainable long-term funding solution is needed for basic education. The recent allocation of R2 billion to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is not a solution and will not resolve thedepartment’s financial crisis. The Department of Education has revealed that the R2 billion allocated to it recently for norms and standards means that its budget in the next financial year will be short by R2 billion.

Furthermore, by November this year, more money will be required to pay for norms and standards that are due. Education is facing a serious crisis; its budget has been cut by close to R28 billion in the past few years, and it is struggling to deliver on some of its objectives due to the unavailability of funds. In a statement, the Provincial Treasury said that the National Treasury has secured a R2 billion advance of funds to enable the provincial Department of Education to meet its critical obligation of transferring norms and standards payments to schools across the province.

The funds were approved on 26 May. The advance funds that are being provided follow cash flow constraints at the provincial level and ensure that payments to schools are not disrupted. The statement added that the National Treasury has indicated that the funds are earmarked for norms and standards transfers to schools.

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Priority is to be given to settling historic debt due to funding limitations. The Department of Education welcomed the cash flow advance from the national government, which will help to alleviate the immediate financial pressures facing schools and the broader education system in the province. The department emphasised that while this cash flow advance provides much-needed temporary relief and will assist in stabilising operations at the school level, it must be noted that this is not a permanent solution to the structural financial challenges facing education in KZN.

“The province continues to carry significant pressures arising from compensation of employees, learner growth, infrastructure backlogs, scholar transport demands, and the rising costs associated with delivering quality education.” The cash flow advance from the National Treasury does not cover the Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) and norms and standards payments due in November. Furthermore, no further cash draw-downs will be received from Provincial Treasury, as the full amount has already been advanced. As a result, delays in payments to service providers and for LTSM will persist, leading to the accumulation of new debt in the following financial year.

The department, therefore, reiterates its call for the National Treasury to work collaboratively with provinces in finding a sustainable long-term funding solution for basic education. Teacher unions have expressed that the funding should be directed at assisting learners. Thirona Moodley of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa said, “The funds must be used to provide much-needed financial relief to schools.

While this intervention will stabilise the department for now, there must be a sustainable long-term solution to this ongoing crisis. The KZN Department of Education is the largest in the country, with approximately 6000 schools. This underfunding has been compounded over many years, leading to the serious crisis the department finds itself in today,” she said.

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