SADTU REACTION TO THE 2025/2026 BUDGET STATEMENT
13 March 2025
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) acknowledges the 2025/26 budget presented by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, in Parliament. The announcement of a 0.5% VAT increase is deeply concerning, as it imposes an additional burden on the majority of South Africans who are already grappling with high levels of unemployment and rising costs of essential goods such as food, electricity, water, and transport.
We recognise the expansion of the zero-rated food basket to include canned vegetables, meat and poultry, and dairy liquid blends. However, there are no mechanisms in place to prevent manufacturers and sellers from increasing the prices of these essential goods, which could undermine the intended relief for consumers.
While we note the increase in social grants, we are disappointed that the government did not increase the Social Relief Grant. The cost of living continues to rise, and the recipients of this grant, like all South Africans, are affected by inflation.
SADTU notes the allocation of R598.7 billion to learning and culture, with basic education receiving R332.3 billion, as well as the additional R19.1 billion over the medium term to retain approximately 11,000 teachers in classrooms. However, this funding remains insufficient to address the sector’s critical challenges.
Although the Minister acknowledged that learner-teacher ratios remain higher than desired and more teachers are still needed, this budget will not be able to employ the hundreds of unemployed teacher graduates or the Grade R educators who have now been absorbed into the system due to Grade R becoming a compulsory school starting age.
Furthermore, we cannot guarantee that the funding will secure the jobs of those already in the system. More than 11,000 teaching posts in KwaZulu-Natal are at risk, and the Western Cape has already cut 2,407 posts. We doubt that the budget will adequately address infrastructure backlogs in education.
We welcome the additional R10 billion allocated over the medium term to increase the subsidy for Early Childhood Development (ECD) from R17 per day per child to R29 and expand access to ECD for approximately 700,000 more children. This long-overdue intervention is a step in the right direction, as ECD is essential for laying a solid foundation for learning.
SADTU remains skeptical about the government’s early retirement initiative. Given the stagnant economy, we doubt that many public servants, including educators, will accept the offer. The initiative, introduced in 2019, failed to attract the expected numbers. While we support the recruitment of younger educators into the system, the government must have an efficient and effective human resource plan to inform supply and demand in education. Such planning shall inform universities in the areas of training as needed by Basic Education.
SADTU remains committed to quality public education. We believe this will be achieved if the government adequately funds education. In line with Education International’s Go Public, Fund Education campaign, which calls on governments to increase funding for education worldwide, we urge our government to increase funding for education and not maintain the current status quo.
We welcome the additional funds to SARS and hope they will serve the purpose of reaching all those who are avoiding paying tax and build the necessary capacity to follow illicit activities which have cost the country billions of rands.
Government should be seen to be acting on wasteful expenditure and corruption. Wasteful expenditure and corruption have eroded all the confidence the citizens have on government. There should be zero-tolerance on wasteful expenditure and corruption. We call for prudence and efficient management of people’s resources.
ISSUED BY: SADTU SECRETARIAT