EFF statement on insufficient basic education funding in 2024 mid-term budget

4 November 2024

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes with concern the 2024 Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) recently delivered by Minister Enoch Godongwana, which continues to highlight the ongoing underfunding of the basic education sector. While education remains one of the largest national budget items with an allocation of R324.5 billion, the reality of inflation, rising learner enrolments, and infrastructural deficits paints a troubling picture for our schools and communities.

Although we acknowledge the slight increase of RI.4 billion to the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG), which was a reversal of previous cuts from November 2023, this increment does little to bridge the vast infrastructure gaps that persist. The combined budget for the EIG and the School Infrastructure Backlogs Grant (SIBG), totalling R14.95 billion, remains insufficient to address the urgent needs of the sector.

Overcrowded classrooms, lack of proper sanitation, inadequate safety measures, and limited access to essential leaming facilities, such as libraries and science labs, continue to be major issues affecting the quality of education for our learners.

The department's own estimates reveal that at least R20 billion annually is required to eliminate critical infrastructure backlogs by 2030. At the current level of funding, not only will this target be unmet, but projections indicate that these challenges will persist until at least 2038.

The EFF further notes that budget constraints, exacerbated by debt service costs now accounting for R382.2 billion—a sum nearly triple what is required to ensure safe and well-resourced schools—continue to limit the potential for meaningful investment in education. The prioritisation of debt repayment at the expense of the socio-economic rights of learners is unacceptable and highlights a political choice that compromises the right to quality education.

This underfunding has tangible consequences, risking a decrease in the quality of education outcomes and threatening the future skill levels of the nation. The EFF has consistently called for a comprehensive reassessment of government spending priorities to ensure that the education of our children is not compromised for fiscal expediency. True economic growth can only be achieved by investing in an educated and capable youth.

We stand in solidarity with educators, parents, and leamers across the country, calling for urgent intervention to increase funding, address infrastructural backlogs, and uphold the constitutional promise of free, quality education for all.

Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, EFF, 5 November 2024