Top 10 priorities to make South African schools more effective

The education budget has finally been set, and though some of it focuses on the right things, there is still much that can be done to improve the situation for our learners. By Michael Le Cordeur

- Michael Le Cordeur

Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana announced in his revised Budget speech that the budget for basic education amounts to R349.5-billion for 2025/26.

This is slightly less than the R349.6-billion that was allocated in the rejected Budget (R100-million to be exact) and about 6% of our country’s GDP — much more than the rest of the world’s 4.4%.

Worldwide, governments spend a significant part of their budget on education because the expectation is that it will deliver dividends that will benefit the country.

The question is whether taxpayers get value for their money if we compare the inputs with the outputs. My answer is “no”.

I admit that the government cannot do everything simultaneously. But if I could put myself in the shoes of Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, I would propose 10 budget priorities.

1. Pit latrines

We have done well since I first wrote about the 3,372 schools with pit latrines in 2019. For that we must thank Angie Motshekga. Only a few remain in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

It does not make sense then that the Eastern Cape Department of Education returned nearly R500-million of its budget to the Treasury in 2024. With that money they could have solved the problem of pit latrines once and for all. This speaks of a lack of political will and respect for children’s dignity by acknowledging their rights to a safe toilet.

Therefore, it is gratifying that the Safe (sanitation appropriate for education) initiative could mobilise resources and that many businesspeople contributed to the replacement of unsafe toilets at schools.

A first priority must be to get rid of pit latrines. We cannot afford to let another Michael Komape or Lumka Mkhethwa die.

2. Teachers