More than 16,000 Gauteng parents, teachers and residents have signed a petition demanding the reversal of controversial school budget cuts, as the Gauteng Department of Education admitted that infrastructure maintenance funds for the current financial year have already been exhausted, leaving schools scrambling to keep basic services running.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it has formally submitted the petition to the Gauteng Education Portfolio Committee, demanding an immediate reversal of what it describes as a 64% reduction in budgets allocated to Quintile 5 public schools.
The party said the cuts are already having severe consequences for schools across the province, with principals and governing bodies struggling to maintain basic services, including electricity, sanitation, infrastructure repairs and learner support programmes.
Across Gauteng, schools are battling to keep the lights on, maintain basic infrastructure, pay for municipal services, repair toilets, provide learner support programmes and sustain extracurricular activities.
The growing financial strain comes amid increasing concern over mounting debt at Gauteng schools. Recently, The Star reported that several public schools across the province collectively owed more than R600 million in unpaid municipal debt, with some schools facing threats of water and electricity disconnections due to spiralling unpaid accounts.
