Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile has revealed that schools across the province owe municipalities more than R500 million, while approximately R6 million is owed to Eskom. The mounting debt has sparked concerns about the financial sustainability of schools and potential disruptions to basic services such as water and electricity.
Matakanye Matakanye, from the National Association of School Governing Bodies, described the issue of municipalities disconnecting water and electricity supplies to schools as highly prevalent. He noted that schools immediately contact the association when services are cut, emphasising that such disconnections effectively halt schooling.
Matakanye explained that schools had managed service payments without major problems for the first 30 years after the advent of democracy. The current difficulties began when the Department of Education took over the responsibility of paying for water and electricity from schools, later returning the function without addressing accumulated debts or providing a full explanation to school governing bodies.
“The issue does not necessarily lie with the schools themselves and the management of schools, but it lies with the government… with the Department of Education,” Matakanye stated. He added that schools, as essential public services that generate no revenue, should be zero-rated for municipal services.
The association has long advocated for zero-rating schools. Matakanye welcomed a recent North Gauteng High Court ruling earlier this month, which determined that municipalities cannot disconnect schools over unpaid municipal rates. He described the judgment as a significant step that supports the push for zero-rating and represents a win-win outcome.
Matakanye acknowledged that many municipalities are themselves struggling financially and rely on revenue collection to maintain services. However, he stressed that austerity measures have also hit schools hard. With schools increasingly dependent on technology for education, the lack of electricity renders gadgets unusable, severely impacting teaching and learning.
“Even if there are shortages of money, this is the time that the schools are using technology… without electricity you can’t use any gadget in the school,” he said.
The situation highlights ongoing tensions between the financial pressures facing municipalities and the need to ensure uninterrupted basic services at public schools.