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In her medium-term budget strategy tabled on Tuesday, the Western Cape MEC for Finance threw two lifelines to the provincial education department to save teachers’ jobs, but it emerged today that the Department of Education remains intent on getting rid of 2400 teachers.

Finance MEC Deidré Baartman announced that R600m earmarked for education infrastructure would be freed up to address the department’s salary needs. She also announced an additional R250m injection to address the education department’s immediate shortages.

Since the announcements, however, MEC for Education David Maynier has doubled down on his plan to scrap the teachers’ posts.

All that was required for him to resolve the crisis was to address a formal request to the MEC for Finance to use the R600m to save the jobs. At today’s meeting of the Western Cape Standing Committee on Education, it emerged that Maynier’s department has inexplicably failed to do so.

The money is available, but the Education MEC doesn’t appear to want to use it.

Since the Education MEC announced in September that the province was forced to cull 2407 teacher posts due to budgetary constraints, it’s been obvious that the intent was to manufacture a crisis.

In March 2024, the Education Department had tabled a balanced three-year budget, disclosing no shortfall, yet by September – despite no changes in funding allocations – the shortfall was so dramatic that the “only option” was to reduce the number of teachers.

Although all provinces are experiencing budgetary pressures, the Western Cape is the only one to respond by getting rid of teachers.

Who’s fooling who?

If the Western Cape cared about teachers’ jobs, or the quality of education, it would not have “siphoned” R8 Billion of the funds it receives from National Treasury for education over the next three years to discretionary projects which have nothing to do with education. That’s what created the crisis in the first place.

The education department confirmed today that its claimed shortfall was covered until March 2025 by the R250m cash injection announced on Tuesday – but said nothing about suspending its plan to freeze posts in January.

Today’s meeting made one thing clear: It confirmed that the department has the funds to save the jobs.

The Education MEC must please explain why he doesn’t appear to want to.

Issued by Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary General & Member of the Western Cape Parliament