Staff at the Sedibeng East district office of the Gauteng Department of Education were locked out of their office building in Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg, on Wednesday after the department failed to pay the rent for two months.

Staff arrived early this morning to find the doors padlocked shut. They were told a few hours later by Sedibeng East district director Dorah Moloi to go home.

Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Charles Phahlane stated that the office was locked without notice by the landlord in relation to nonpayment of rent for the months of January and February 2013. “This was because the landlord’s tax clearance certificate had not been updated and the department was subsequently unable to pay,” explained Phahlane.

The office released support staff while curriculum officials visited schools according to schedule.

The department had since entered into discussions with the landlord and the offices were opened during the course of the day, while staff were informed to report for duty as usual on Thursday.

Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng education spokesperson Khume Ramulifho said the DA had been raising concerns that many education districts were dysfunctional. Ramulifho was told by the Head of Department that there were "cash flow challenges for a month".

“They [the Basic Education Department] are failing to support schools and provide the necessary resources. They only react when there is a crisis,” he said.

Meanwhile, education received the biggest slice in the Gauteng budget, presented on Tuesday, with finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe saying the government intended improving access to, and the quality of, education in the province.