By Zukile Majova
Learners from the poorest schools in Gauteng will be hit hardest as the provincial government plans to cut funding for scholar transport and feeding schemes.
This move aims to prevent the loss of 3,400 teaching jobs amid nationwide budget cuts.
These cuts are part of the broader cost-saving measures by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, which has seen reduced funding for critical sectors like education, policing, and healthcare, while politicians continue to receive salary increases.
Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, said the province faces a R4.5-billion budget cut.
Due to an influx of over 35,000 new learners each year, the province needs more teachers, schools and resources, making it difficult to manage the budget.
To avoid firing teachers, the department will reduce spending on scholar transport and school feeding programmes, which are lifelines for many learners from poor families.
Government research shows that for some of these learners, the meal they get at school is the only one they can count on each day.
The placement system in Gauteng often assigns learners to schools outside their neighbourhoods, requiring them to rely on government-funded transport.
When transport funding is cut, learners from low-income families are left struggling, as their parents cannot afford the costs of getting them to school.
Pictured above: President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Source: X
