Outrage as Eastern Cape ‘loses’ R500m while schools crumble

NATIONAL NEWS - The Eastern Cape department of education must convince National Treasury to release a R500 million infrastructure grant that has been withheld due to its incompetence.

It is shocking that the department failed to secure the grant while the province faces an infrastructure backlog and other related crises, education expert Hendrick Makaneta said.

“We are concerned about the ongoing mismanagement in the Eastern Cape department of education.”

Eastern Cape education slammed for losing a R500m grant

“Withholding the money due to non-compliance with the Division of Revenue Act 2025 it is clear that pupils are being denied their basic right to a safe and conducive learning environment,” Makaneta said.

“Overcrowded classrooms and lack of electricity and running water are not just statistics; they are daily realities that compromise the well-being of pupils and teachers.”

Makaneta said resources meant to uplift children have been mismanaged.

That has left thousands of vulnerable children in substandard conditions and even school dropouts.

“As advocates for quality education, we must demand immediate action from the government to ensure transparency and proper prioritisation of funds,” Makaneta said.

“Our children’s future depends on a government that respects and invests in their right to education.

“We stand with political parties that demand accountability from the department,” Makaneta said.

Dept continues to subject students to inhumane conditions

African Transformation Movement spokesperson Zama Ntshona said the department continued to subject students to inhumane conditions.

“The evidence is overwhelming because the province has dilapidated infrastructure, with over 1 000 classrooms reported as unsafe and nearly 40% of schools lacking basic services such as electricity and running water.

“The province has one of the highest pupil-to-teacher ratios in the country, with reports indicating that some classrooms accommodate more than 50 students at a time,” said Ntshona.

The overcrowding in schools not only stifles academic performance but also fosters an environment of anxiety and despair among students and teachers, he added.

Instead of prioritising the allocation of resources to address the pressing issues, the provincial education department has diverted funds to unauthorized projects, demonstrating a shocking lack of efficiency, effectiveness, and political will, Ntshona said.

Diverted funds to unauthorised projects

“This mismanagement perpetuates a cycle of failure that directly impacts the learning environment, leaving thousands of pupils stranded in substandard conditions, with many facing the prospect of dropping out due to the intolerable circumstances.

“The ATM condemns the leadership of the Eastern Cape education authorities for their negligence and failure to act in the best interests of our children.”

Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, said his organisation was concerned at the slow pace of addressing the quality of school infrastructure in general, across the country, which includes the fact that the government was far behind the curve in addressing school sanitation requirements and overcrowded classrooms.

“While there may be a number of factors here, much of the source of the problems lies in poor leadership and a lack of excellent financial management and oversight of spending.”

Themba Godi, the leader of the African People’s Convention, who is a former parliamentary standing committee on public accounts chair, said the provincial department of education in the Eastern Cape was one of the departments consuming the bulk of the provincial budget, while they have been swamped by corruption and maladministration since the dawn of democracy.

“It is one department that has never been able to properly manage the billions of friends that are entrusted to their care.

‘No-one has ever acted’

“Year in and year out, the findings of the Auditor-General are quite damning about fruitless and wasteful expenditure, irregular expenditure, mismanagement and general corruption.