M&G file photo
The Western Cape education department has clarified that although 2400 teaching jobs will be lost by the end of the year, no teachers will be retrenched — but contract teachers won’t be reappointed.
An uproar followed an earlier department statement about plans to cut 2 400 teaching jobs in the province as a result of a severe budget cut of R3.8 billion.
“We are not firing teachers, and we are not retrenching teachers,” Western Cape education MEC David Maynier said in the latest statement.
“The reduction in posts will mean that some contract teachers will not be reappointed after their contracts end on 31 December 2024, and some permanent teachers will be asked to move to another school where there is a suitable vacancy.”
Last week, the department said it had informed schools that “the current number of educator posts in the Western Cape cannot be maintained” and it had “cut down on spending across various directorates”. It said it had informed schools on where it planned to cut teacher posts.
In the latest statement, Maynier said despite the department’s plan to implement a drastic R2.5 billion budget cut, including on administration, curriculum and infrastructure, it still faced a R3.8 billion budget shortfall over the next three years.
“We are in an impossible position, and it is not of our making, and the Western Cape is not the only province affected.The decision by the national government to not fully fund the 2023 wage agreement has caused a fiscal crisis for education departments across the country,” he said.
South Africa’s public education system has 410 000 teachers employed in about 25 000 schools in the country, according to the Western Cape department.
In April last year, unions representing the majority of public servants at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council accepted the government’s wage increase offer of 7.5% during the 2023-24 fiscal year.
But the Western Cape education department said it had received only 64% of the cost of the nationally negotiated wage agreement, leaving the province to fund the remaining 36%.
According to the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), the department began consultations with teacher unions and school governing bodies in July about its proposal to reduce the 2025 basket of educator posts.
Sadtu, the largest trade union for teachers in South Africa, has rejected the Western Cape department’s plans, saying it would report it to the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC).
“This will not be accepted because the department hasn’t consulted in line with the legislation and we have declared a dispute in the matter. The matter will be scheduled by the ELRC in due course,” said Sadtu secretary Mugwena Maluleke.
The union confirmed that its members will embark on a strike on a date to be determined, taking into consideration the fact that matric exams are due to begin in October.
Maynier’s Democratic Alliance, the party governing the Western Cape, said it would “fight for teachers affected by treasury’s funding shortfalls”.
“The DA urges the national government to find alternative areas for budget cuts and to ensure that essential public service roles, including those of teachers, are fully protected.” DA basic education spokesperson Delmaine Christians said.
In the national budget, the department of basic education was allocated R32.3 billion for the 2024-25 financial year, a 7.4% increase from the 2023-24 budget allocation.
Maynier noted that provinces had outlined the difficulties they were facing in presentations to the portfolio committee on basic education in the National Assembly on 20 August.
KwaZulu-Natal said its education department could not afford 11 092 of its educator posts because of its budget shortfall of R4 billion for 2024, and that it had to reduce norms and standards payments to schools and delay paying service providers.
“Mpumalanga has a budget pressure of R876 million that it must resolve, while the North West has to find R485 million.The Northern Cape has had to, according to the wording of their presentation to the portfolio committee, implement a ‘drastic removal of a large number of vacant posts’ from their organisational structure, but still won’t be able to deal with their shortfall,” Maynier said.
Gauteng said it would have to reduce learner transport, and would not be able to expand early childhood development as planned. The province has the second biggest education system in the country after Kwa Zulu-Natal, with more than 15 million pupils.
South Africa is already grappling with a 31 000 teacher shortage in the country. KwaZulu-Natal, at 7 044, recorded the highest number of unfilled posts followed by the Eastern Cape and Limpopo at 6111 and 4933, respectively. The Northern Cape, at 726, has the least number of unfilled posts.