Classrooms without teachers?

Where are the teachers? And where has the money gone?! It is in the middle of the school year and there are still more than 29 000 vacant teaching posts in public schools in South Africa.

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These posts should have been filled at the start of the school year in January, according to Fedsas.

"A national disaster is unfolding before our eyes. These posts were budgeted for and the money was paid to provincial education departments a long time ago," says Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of Fedsas (Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools).

The organisation also pointed out last month that only three of the nine provinces had made the legally mandated transfer payments to schools before the deadline of May 15.

"Provincial education departments have therefore received two enormous sums of money - millions of rand for vacant posts and millions more for transfer payments. This money may not be used for any other purpose, but in most cases no appointments have been made and the transfer payments have not been made either. Whatever provincial education departments do with the money is unlawful. In essence, these officials are stealing from children!"

Deacon says 15% of public schools do not have permanent principals.