Cape Town - The Western Cape Education Department, Section27 as well as the education community membership-based organisation Equal Education (EE) and Equal Education Law Centre (EELC), have slammed the recent Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
The three education bodies believe that the tabled budget cuts and increases announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on November 1 could cripple an already spiralling system even more.
Godongwana tabled the MTBPS, setting out changes to the 2023/24 main budget and government’s spending priorities for the next three years.
The 2023 MTBPS follows National Treasury’s decision to implement cost-containment measures to reduce spending across national and provincial government departments to repay government debt.
Godongwana announced a proposed overall adjustment of R10 billion to consolidate basic education expenditure.
There are also budget cuts proposed to essential programmes including the HIV/Aids, Life Skills Grant (11.5% decrease from R241.7 million to R213.9m) and Maths, Science and Technology Grant (11.5% cut from R443m to R383.2).
Section27 also highlighted the state’s reduction of the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) from the 2023/24 budget’s R13.9 billion to R12.2bn and said it was a concern.
Section27 spokesperson Pearl Nicodemus said: “Although we recognise that we exist in a global economic system underpinned by difficult tradeoffs, we caution that eroding investment in the education of learners and health-care services will likely have adverse consequences in the decades to come.”
Western Cape Minister of Education David Maynier agreed and said that this was a major setback for education in the province.
“Spending on basic education over the medium term declines in real terms, the increase in the cost of employing teachers is not fully funded, and conditional grants including the education infrastructure grant have been cut by the national government.
“What makes matters worse is that the budget cuts, most importantly a R1.6 bn cut to the education infrastructure grant, take effect in this financial year, and will have an immediate and devastating effect on education in the Western Cape.
“As the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement itself puts it: This could lead to larger class sizes and higher learner-teacher ratios, possibly resulting in weaker educational outcomes,” Maynier said.
EE head of research Elizabeth Biney and EELC legal researcher Katherine Sutherland said the cuts were deeply concerning for the delivery of crucial social services, including basic education.
“The budget is a transformation tool, and the current spending choices show that the government is not prioritising human rights, and particularly the rights of learners.
“The social implications of Treasury’s planned austerity measures will be dire, particularly for a sector currently battling a growing #EducationBlackout that requires substantial spending to address, not less.
“National Treasury’s decision will likely plunge the sector into further darkness,” the bodies said.