Education
With reference to the Western Cape Education Department’s reduction to the educator post establishment by 2 407 posts and the HOD’s circular (dated 15 January 2025) addressed to principals, educators and school-based staff at public schools in which he announced an “increase of up to 477 growth posts in the existing educator establishment for 2025”:
(1) (a) What was the educator post establishment (number of posts) for public schools at the commencement of the 2024/25 financial year, (b) what number of that post establishment was vacant throughout the 2024 school year or what was the actual total number of public school educators employed in the 2024 school year, (c) what was his Department’s budget for cost of employment for the educator post establishment for the 2024/25 financial year, (d) what was his Department’s actual expenditure on the cost of employment for public school educators on the educator post establishment from 1 April 2024 to 31 December 2024, (e) what is his Department’s projected total expenditure on the cost of employment for the educator post establishment for the 2024/25 financial year ending 31 March 2025, (f) what is the cost-of-employment “saving” (i) resulting from the reduction of 2 407 educator posts in the current financial year and (ii) in the two outer MTEF years, (g) what is the source of the funding for the 477 “growth posts” announced on 15 January 2025, (h) what are the details of any departmental savings or adjustments to fund these posts, if applicable, and (i) what is the cost of employment for these additional posts in the (i) current financial year and (ii) MTEF years;
(2) whether the funding was sourced from private donors; if so, what (a) are the details of the donors and (b) were their donations?
My Department has informed me of the following:
(a) The number of posts available to ordinary public schools for the 2024 academic year was 37 135.
(b) The number of educators employed on 18 November 2024 was 36 030.
The filling of vacancies is a continuous process and data will differ from month to month depending on exits and nominations received for processing.
Educators on Post Level 1 were appointed against promotion posts and where an acting appointment was made against promotion posts. This was to ensure that classroom teaching took place until the posts were filled.
(c) The cost of employment for Educators was R19.954 billion as per 2024/25 Adjusted budget.
(d) Expenditure for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 December 2024 was R14.981 billion.
(e) Anticipated spending to be R19.954 billion, with other variables in the projection related to additional growth posts, additional cost of excess educators as well as the matching and placing of excess educators in substantive vacant funded posts and the filling of other vacancies in process.
(f) (i) R193.46 million.
(ii) R1,678 billion over the MTEF.
(g) Within the financial year, this was funded through repriotisation as per the Adjustment Budget.
(h) The adjustments to the budget are available in the Adjusted Estimates of Provincial Revenue and Expenditure.
(i) Total cost for 2024/25 is R58.4 million.
(ii) Total cost over 2025 MTEF is R748.6 million.
(2) (a) & (b)
No, not applicable.
