By Kouthar Sambo
The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, noted the funding crisis within the Department of Basic Education funding, attributing this to above-inflation increases in public sector wages. As a result, budgets have been, either cut or remain the same. This comes as several provinces are forced to terminate educators’ contracts at the end of the year, placing added pressure on the education sector to fill the growing vacancy lists for educators.
Speaking on VOC’s PM Drive show on Thursday, an education expert, Mary Metcalf, said the education industry is heading for a “difficult few years.”
“The money that is spent by the government on basic education is the largest amount in the budget, other than repaying our debt. That annual amount is R312 billion so it’s a large amount because we have not achieved the economic target and economic growth, therefore failing to reach the investment target,” detailed Metcalf.
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