Gauteng schools have been left waiting for R1.87 billion in funding after the Provincial Treasury advised the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to delay Norms and Standards payments due to cash-flow constraints.
The scale of the funding crisis was revealed in a written reply by Gauteng Finance MEC Nkululeko Dunga to questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, which showed that the GDE had warned Treasury months earlier about its projected payments to schools.
According to Dunga, the GDE had already flagged its funding requirements with the Treasury months before the payment delays, submitting its first projections in February and a second set of figures in June.
“The GDE had written two letters to the Gauteng Provincial Treasury (GPT); the first letter was dated 11 February 2026, and the second letter dated 13 June 2026. In both letters, the GDE was indicating projected transfers to schools for the 2026/27 financial year.”
Despite the warnings, schools did not receive their full first-tranche allocations.
