Impact of teacher cuts in the Western Cape. Picture: File
Education watchdogs and experts predict the loss of 2,407 teachers in the Western Cape will have a dire impact on teacher burnout, the overcrowding of classrooms, and a loss of educators to international recruiters.
Areas such as Mitchell’s Plain faces losing 176 educators, followed by Khayelitsha with 142, with a teacher-to-pupil ratio of 1 to 36.7 in the classroom. Metro East, Metro South and Metro North districts will lose over 400 teachers each.
In a graph shared with Weekend Argus, Districts around the province will see a massive loss of teachers in various municipalities like Overberg, Eden & Central Karoo and Cape Winelands.
George will lose 57, Worcester 65, Athlone 60, Bellville 43, Atlantis 38, Delft 78, Philipp 58, Paarl, 72, Manenberg 24, and many others reaching 10 and more.
Education watchdogs predict classroom sizes of 45 learners and more with educators reaching burnout and being forced to either seek sick leave for stress or international job opportunities where educators are being sought.
Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for Education MEC David Maynier said the average ratio of pupils to teachers is expected to increase.
“The formula determining how the total number of teaching posts gets divided between schools is provided by the national government according to their agreement with teachers’ unions,” she said.
“The formula takes into account class sizes, the workload of teachers, the size of the school, language, curriculum, poverty, and other factors.
“The average teacher to learner ratio is expected to increase from 1:34.2 in 2024 to 1:36.7 in 2025.
“We have worked hard over the past few years to bring class sizes down, but unfortunately the reduction will undo some of that work.”
Earlier, Maynier said they had tried to avoid a Basket of Posts reduction and deliver on a balanced budget for the year of 2024/2025 financial year.
“The projected savings from these measures were not what we hoped for, leaving us with a R3.8 billion budget deficit over the next three years,” he said.
“In essence, the national fiscal emergency wiped out our bold new vision for education. We were left with no choice other than to reduce the Basket of Posts by 2,407 posts. This has put tremendous pressure on our schools and our teachers.
“It was not a decision that was made lightly, and it is a position that we should never have been put in.”
Maynier warned that the 2024/25 Adjustment Budget brought the budget deficit in the current financial year down to R405.8 million.
“Meaning that we were still short on funds to break even and cover our expenses,” he said.
“So, an additional allocation of R250m was provided to help us close the gap, and we dealt with the remaining deficit by making even more severe non-personnel budget cuts.”
Maynier admitted that hard decisions would be made and that new applications for the year 2025 would have a mammoth impact and that classrooms would be overcrowded and the workload for teachers would increase.
He said as of December 4, 2024, they allocated places for 117,407, or 97%, of the learners for whom applications were received for Grade 1 and 8 for the 2025 school year.
He added they aimed to have a total of nine new schools and 265 additional classrooms for 2025.
“And we must be upfront and honest about the risks that we face,” he explained.
“We are going to make some tough choices moving into the new school year, because there are no simple solutions when facing a fiscal emergency.”
Professor Kobus Maree of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Pretoria (UP) said teacher burnout and larger classroom sizes was inevitable with the quality of education dwindling as the department had to make due with resources and funding they had.
“I applaud the Department’s back on track programme, it did very well but R3.8 billion deficit over three years, no way that is going to happen (with the cuts), administrative support will be lacking, critical initiatives like academic recovery will be lost.”
Vanessa Le Roux of Parents for Equal Education SA said the Department had irresponsibly overspent on their budget in comparison with the other eight provinces.
“All the departments’ problems they blame on the National Government, however all other eight provinces must work with what the government has given them,” she said.
“We are speaking about the 2,407 teachers being cut and what about the 1,000 teachers that were fired in the most inhumane manner.
Lukhanyo Vanqa, Department of Basic Education (DBE) national spokesperson said they were unable to source the amount of teachers seeking sick leave due to stress and burnout this year as the reality of possible overcrowding of classrooms.
“Leighton Fuscher, a parent whose two children attend school in Mitchell’s Plain said he was horrified to learn that close to 200 teachers were being cut in their district.
“As a parent I am disgusted with the department, they know we already have class sizes with 40 to 44 in a classroom,” he said.
genevieve.serra@inl.co.za
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