SADTU MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE COLLAPSE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN KWAZULU NATAL.

02 June 2025
SADTU MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE COLLAPSE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION IN KWAZULU NATAL.
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in KwaZulu Natal (KZN)
issues this public statement to inform SADTU and the general public, the current
status of education in the province.
The challenges faced by schools and education workers both school-based
and office-based are well known, as SADTU has consistently raised these issues
over time. Formal bilateral meetings with the employer, marches and pickets
have been held, but despite these efforts, the situation continues to
deteriorate.
It is important to first remind all stakeholders of the legal obligations placed on
the employer regarding schools and learners.
Section 29(1)(a) of Chapter 2 of South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996)
states, “Everyone has a right to basic education including adult basic
education.” This is a chapter in the Constitution that all basic human rights are
put together and which the State, through its organs and institutions, must
ensure that they are protected and are advanced.
Section 34 (1) of Chapter 4 of the South African Schools’ Act, (Act 84 of 1996)
states, “The State must fund public schools from public revenue on equitable
basis in order to ensure the proper exercise of the rights of learners to education
and the redress of the past inequalities in education provision.”
Section 28 (2) of the SA Constitution further affirms that: “A child’s best interests
are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.
Despite these constitutional and legislative obligations, the KZN Department of
Education consistently failed in the following areas:
§ Non-payment of basic finance allocation, failing to adhere to
national norms and standards. For example, for Quintile 1-3
schools, KZN pays R955 per learner instead of R1602, resulting in a
shortfall of R647.
§ Failure to pay the basic finance allocation to schools in May
§ Unilateral introduction of tranches or installments when paying
allocations to schools.
§ Failure to pay Acting Allowances to Office Based teachers and
education workers.
§ Non-compliance with Collective Agreements, especially
regarding acting allowances.
§ Failure to appoint substitute educators, thereby undermining
existing education policies.
§ Teachers and other education workers can’t pay municipality bills,
can’t attend education workshops and meetings organized for
developmental purposes.
§ Schools have no money to procure other teaching and learning
support resources.
§ Non-payment of service providers that supplied schools with
stationery in January
§ Non-payment of Grade R practitioners in April.
§ No participation of schools in extracurricular activities, as the
Department claims it has no funds.
§ Teacher appreciation initiatives like the National Teaching Awards
are under threat, as the department failed to organize again in
2024 claiming it has no funds.
§ Inability of Office Based education workers to attend national
training sessions and meetings, again due to lack of funds.
§ Department has engaged in “silent retrenchment” processes as
there is a moratorium on filling of vacancies for school clerks,
teacher assistants, security etc.
§ Lack of security in schools exposing teachers to danger – two
teachers had their vehicles hijacked at gunpoint on school
premises in two months.
§ Insufficient tools of trade – for instance, office-based workers are
limited to 1700 kilometers per month to travel, which is inadequate
given the vastness of our province.
Taken together, these failures of the Department of Education are not just in
contempt of the education policy or Act, but also a blatant disregard of the
Constitution, the supreme law of the land.
SADTU KZN draws the attention of its members, education stakeholders, the
media and the general public of KwaZulu-Natal and beyond to the dire and
dysfunctional state of education in the province. Senior officials in the
Department are well aware of the crisis and yet have done nothing to improve
the situation.
For the longest time, SADTU as a progressive and revolutionary Union, has
always supported initiatives aimed at addressing challenges in the education
sector. We have consistently called on our members to focus their energy on
improving learner outcomes. Thanks to the dedication of our members,
KwaZulu-Natal’s matric results have improved year after year. These members
worked beyond normal hours out of commitment to quality public education
delivery. Principals have been using their own money to keep their schools
functional.
No one can claim that we have not raised these issues before. Examples
include:
• In October 2023 SADTU pulled a mother of all marches to highlight
the funding crisis in the province and call for it to be addressed as
a matter of urgency.
• In the last term of 2024 SADTU was engaged in two weeks of
engagements with the employer, while other members held
pickets
• During the Presidential Imbizo at UMnini, SADTU raised these
concerns directly.
Despite engagements and repeated commitments from the Department, no
tangible progress has been made. The level of inaction is at its highest.
It is for these reasons that SADTU has declared the KwaZulu Natal Department
of Education as having COLLAPSED.
As a result, the Union has resolved on the following actions:
• Members are currently on a work-to-rule campaign
• Members will not attend meetings or workshops organized by the
department
• Principals do not attend meetings or workshops and will boycott making
submissions until the department pays all the money owed to schools.
Only then will they have the means to organize and attend
departmental programmes.
• Members will focus exclusively on 7 hours of classroom teaching, no extra
classes will be conducted
The end
ISSUED BY: SADTU KZN Secretariat