Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Sergio Isa Dos Santos MPL.
The Gauteng Department of Education’s failure (GDE) to meet the 15 May 2026 school subsidy payment deadline has deepened the crisis facing schools and exposed the growing financial mismanagement within the department.
By missing the deadline, the department has once again abandoned schools already facing a deepening financial crisis. Learners risk losing valuable teaching time due to power outages and water shortages, while teachers have to maintain educational standards in under-resourced and demoralising conditions. Delayed subsidy payments may also force parents to absorb costs that schools can no longer afford and push communities to react to the government’s neglect.
In its official press statement, the department confirmed that it was required to pay school subsidies by 15 May 2026, as per paragraph 121A of the National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF). However, the department has now pushed these payments to June 2026, and that is if it delivers on its promise.
This latest failure follows an internal GDE memorandum circulated to all schools earlier this year confirming that the department had already depleted infrastructure maintenance funds for the 2025/26 financial year and would no longer respond to maintenance requests until further notice.
See memorandum here.
This is not a minor administrative delay; it reflects a persistent pattern of financial mismanagement within this department. For years, the GDE has trapped schools in a cycle of late payments, funding uncertainty, and financial instability, pushing many schools to the brink of collapse. Once these funds are delayed, schools cannot pay for municipal services, learning and teaching support materials (LTSM), maintenance, and daily operations.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has long warned of the department’s poor planning, weak financial controls, and growing operational pressures on schools already struggling to keep up with rising municipal costs, infrastructure deterioration, and overcrowding. These warnings have, however, been met with denial and dismissal.
The DA will table questions to ascertain reasons for the missed payment deadline and continue to engage MEC Lebogang Maile on the need to urgently strengthen intergovernmental cooperation between the GDE, municipalities, and other stakeholders to rescue schools from reaching a breaking point.
The DA is the only party with a proven track record of strong financial management in government. A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would strengthen financial controls, ensure timely school allocations, and hold officials accountable for financial mismanagement, giving every learner a fair chance to achieve academic success and unlocking their full potential.