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Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer has accused the national government of cutting provincial budgets, funneling money to bankrupt SA state-owned companies at the expense of education.
This was in response to an announcement that the Cosatu union federation and its partners would hold a press conference on Monday “on the challenges facing the Western Cape education department.”
Among its partners joining the press conference are the ANC, SACP, Sanco, Sadtu, Cosas and Sasco.
Schäfer asked the organizations to “denounce the underfunding of education by the national government.”
“I am pleased that Cosatu and its partner organizations understand that we face challenges. The most profound of these challenges, and indeed the one that underpins almost all the others, is the continued underfunding of education in the Western Cape by the national government, ”he said in a press release Sunday.
She said “severe” budget cuts to the Education Infrastructure Grant and spending on Covid-19 compliance measures have resulted in the elimination of a third of the 2020 infrastructure budget.
He said that the National Treasury demands the cuts over the next three years.
“The simple fact that must be understood is this: without a proper budget, we cannot afford everything we need to provide a quality education to the students of this province,” said Schäfer.
“The budget cuts mean that we cannot build enough schools for the 18,000 additional students that are added to our province’s schools each year, so there will be a great struggle to find school places each year,” he said.
She said the schools that were vandalized must also be repaired, also reducing the budget. But the cuts meant the provincial government also needed to cut spending on security, meaning schools continue to be vandalized.
According to Schäfer, budget cuts also mean they can’t hire more teachers, meaning the pressure on teachers will increase as class sizes increase.
“We cannot continue to provide a quality education to all students in this province without the money to pay for it. It is a financial impossibility, ”he said.
“While the Western Cape prioritizes education during our budget process, all departments will suffer when the national government demands large cuts in provincial participation, no matter how important the services they provide,” said Schäfer.
TimesLIVE
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