Education Department ignores court order

THE KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Education has failed to comply and honour the court order to pay three Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres their outstanding balance.

- MANYANE MANYANE

This was after the Legal Resources Centre, which represents the three ECD centres, obtained a court order from the KZN High Court in Pietermaritzburg compelling the department to pay the three.

The court order was obtained on May 26 and the department was given until June 5 to pay the money.

The total owed to the three centres was R163859.

The LRC said although the three centres received some payments between May 30 and July 2, these had been sporadic and incomplete, leaving them unable to plan and budget properly.

One of the centres, Sakhokwethu, was still owed a significant amount dating back to the 2023/2024 financial year. This ongoing neglect has forced its principal, Bonisiwe Mthembu, to incur personal debt to keep the centre operational, leading her into a financial crisis as she grapples with escalating interest payments. The consequences of this failure were severe for children, staff and the wider community.

“Sakhokwethu is in a state of despair and disrepair. Paying staff is impossible when I have to choose between wages and feeding the children. It feels like the department has abandoned us,” he said.