ANC in KZN raises concerns about the impact of underfunding of the education department

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has raised concerns about the impact of underfunding of the Department of Education, stating it has already placed critical functions of the department in imminent threat. 

The party said it is concerned about the impact on the supply of Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) and the provision of school meals under the School Nutrition Programme.

It said the systemic financial crisis is placing the entire operational capacity of the Department at risk. The core problem is historical and prolonged underfunding.

In a statement, the party said, “The Department was forced to absorb a staggering R26 billion budget cut over the last Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. This financial reality, combined with the insufficient funding for mandated wage agreements, has distorted the budget to the point of unsustainability.

“Currently, 89.8% of the Department’s Equitable Share budget is consumed by the Compensation of Employees (CoE). This leaves a negligible balance for core non-personnel expenditure, which translates to a state of effective financial collapse for critical services.

It said the Department finds it difficult to afford current filled posts and fill crucial non-essential vacancies. This is actively creating a risk of adverse audit outcomes—for example, all posts in the Internal Control Directorate are vacant except for one Deputy Director.

In certain instances, it added, the Department has difficulties paying municipalities for essential services. Furthermore, it struggles to pay norms and standards to schools on time, severely impacting school functionality.

It added that the financial crisis has already created an imminent threat to two of the Department of Education’s most vital necessities including learning and teaching support material and the school nutrition programme.

The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP): “This programme is a major success, feeding over 2.4 million learners daily and employing nearly 15,000 food handlers. It is a direct poverty alleviation and social stability tool. However, the inability to consistently pay norms and standards to schools on time places the entire structure of this vital food provision programme under pressure, jeopardising the consistent supply of meals to our most vulnerable children.

Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM): “The Department faces a severe funding gap for the 2026 academic year. We were forced to procure stationery only under the condition of negotiating a delayed payment of R496 million with the service provider. This desperate measure created a high risk of non-delivery or late delivery of essential textbooks and stationery on the first day of the school year, which would result in chaos and directly undermine our progress in educational quality,” it said. 

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