Outrage as KZN Department of Education slashes learner transportation budget by almost R200 million

5 July 2023

ActionSA is outraged by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education’s (DoE) decision to slash the scholar transport budget from R457 million to R266 million for the upcoming financial year.

This move by the department will undoubtedly compound challenges already placed on learners who reside in rural areas, and walk long distances to and from reach school on a daily basis.

Currently, over 157 000 pupils require scholar transport, and with these budget cuts, access to education will be severely impacted for many learners across the province.

With this new development, one has to keep in mind that the DoE plans to permanently close more than 900 schools, which they have classified as “non-viable schools” in the province, mostly affecting schools in rural communities.

The questions to which we seek answers are as follows:

How does the department intend to ensure that pupils who have been affected by school closures will be transported to new schools?

If they have actively slashed the transport budget by nearly R200 million, how does the department envisage getting even more learners to fewer schools which will undoubtedly be further from their homes?

It has become apparent that the DoE is dismally failing to properly act in accordance with its obligations which are to develop, maintain and support the South African education system. We have, however, seen the Department deliberately allowing over 2 million pupils to go without food, or consume expired food for months on end.

While the Department should be finding innovative ways to mend gaps within the education system, it is becoming perceivable that the DoE is further collapsing the already unequal, mismanaged and overly politicised system.

It is unfortunate that with these frequent occurrences of unfortunate events, those who suffer the most are black pupils who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

If our province truly had men and women of conscience who conducted oversight visits to better understand challenges faced by the people of our province, budget cuts would not be a consideration in this critical sector.

While we are actively campaigning for the KZN Legislature to move back to Ulundi, which will subsequently save the province from spending billions of Rands, the governing party has asserted their intentions to go forth with the construction of the R6 billion precinct, which will be senseless given the current issues at hand.

A portion of the R6 billion could be used to provide better access to education in the province as opposed to this vanity project.

And with this, we are calling on the MEC for Education, Ms Mbali Frazer, to answer these critical questions for actions that defy logic.

We will also be writing to the Provincial Treasurer, calling on them to exercise their role and focus on enhancing service delivery through collaborating with the DoE to re-evaluate the decision to implement the budget cuts.

Given the atrocious track record of the DOE in 2023 alone, voting for a government that will put the lives and needs of our people first in the 2024 elections has become imperative.

Issued by Zwakele Mncwango, ActionSA KZN Provincial Chairperson, 5 July 2023