GROUNDUP : ‘Disgrace’: Eastern Cape Education Department admits it unlawfully withheld billions from schools

While about 1.58 million no-fee pupils have been denied support for three years, parents already surviving on grants have been asked to supply toilet paper, cleaning products and copying paper.

The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) admitted in the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday (19 August) that it was unlawful and unconstitutional to withhold billions of rands from public schools. But the schools will not get the money back.

The case emanates from a 2020 decision by the department to deviate from the per-learner school allocation target that schools receive as part of their yearly budget. About R6-billion has been held since 2020, according to calculations.

The case was brought by the Makhanda Circle of Unity along with the governing bodies of Ntsika Secondary School, Hoërskool PJ Olivier and Tyantyi Primary School, represented by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC). SECTION27 was admitted as amicus curiae. The parties reached an agreement which was made an order of court.

Under the order, the decision to withhold part of the schools’ budget was declared unconstitutional. The ECDoE must give every Eastern Cape school its full allocation for the 2027/28 financial year, based on the prevailing minimum per-learner target. The department must also report on compliance at intervals until September 2027.

The ECDoE has withheld roughly R6-billion from no-fee schools between 2020 and 2026, according to calculations. The figure was estimated at R5-billion last year, but has kept growing while the case waited to be heard.

The Minister of Basic Education has gazetted a target of R1,835 per pupil for 2026 for no-fee schools in quintiles 1 to 3 for the current financial year. But the Eastern Cape department has been transferring R1,101, a retention of 40%.

Across roughly 1.58 million no-fee pupils in the province, about R1.16-billion has been withheld in the current financial year alone, bringing the total since 2020 past R6-billion.

None of it will be repaid. The applicants had asked the court to direct the department to return funds withheld from schools. But the order does not provide for that – the department conceded that its conduct was unlawful but kept the money.

In a statement issued on the eve of the hearing, the LRC set out what the shortfall looks like inside schools. Parents already surviving on child support grants have been asked to supply toilet paper, cleaning products and copying paper. Teachers and principals have bought stationery and textbooks out of their own pockets. Some schools have had their water and electricity disconnected because they could not pay their municipal accounts.

In its own court papers, the department says some of the money it retained from schools (R834-million in 2023/24) was used to bail out schools that had defaulted on municipal services.