There will be no teacher retrenchments arising from budget cuts in 2025, Select Committee hears

15 October 2024

The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences, and Creative Industries, Mr Makhi Feni, has welcomed assurance from the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, that there will be no teacher retrenchments next year.
 
Ms Gwarube led a strong departmental delegation to Parliament to brief the committee on budget cuts and their impact on teacher employment. Mr Feni welcomed the education department’s assurances that budget cuts will not lead to teacher retrenchment, saying that stability in the sector and South Africa’s quality education will now be maintained.
 
Ms Gwarube said: “Yesterday we marked 100 days of the Government of National Unity, an event that coincided with the release of five prominent political prisoners (Walter Sisulu, Elias Motsoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba and Ahmed Kathrada) all those years back. These are sacrifices that give us, as a nation, character, which we want reflected in the quality education system we have.”
 
“The cutting of teacher posts had the committee worried and we cannot afford to be shedding educator jobs now. There will always be contradictions in living and experiencing the world, but we cannot risk the future of our children and the livelihoods of our educators,” the Minister added.

Mr Feni noted and welcomed these comments.

Minister Gwarube also noted that South Africa needs to invest in its education system and the Basic Education department will do everything possible to shield frontline service workers from budget cuts. She noted that budget cuts are a government-wide constraint affecting all departments, but the Department of Basic Education in consultation with National Treasury had worked to find solutions to the problem.
 
Ms Gwarube assured committee members that retrenchments will not happen in 2025, but she also noted that teacher numbers will remain as they are for the year, although she would have liked to hire more.
 
“We are comforted by the Minister’s pronouncements, and that places the committee in a good position when it goes out to do oversight. We can see that efforts are being undertaken in ensuring that we are not negatively affected. We appreciate that,” said Mr Feni.
 
Meanwhile, Mr Feni has congratulated all those teachers who had won “best teacher of the year” awards. “We have noted their efforts and we saying there will be no teacher retrenchments,” he said. These are the heroes our country needs, he added.

Issued by Sibongile Maputi, Media Officer, Parliament, 15 October 2024