KZN pupils may start 2026 school year without textbooks amid department's financial crisis
Thousands of pupils in KwaZulu-Natal may start the new school year without textbooks amid the cash crunch facing the Department of Education.
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Thousands of school pupils across KwaZulu-Natal could be forced to start next year’s studies without textbooks because the purchase order to produce the books has not been signed.
Officials in the Department of Education (DoE) have blamed the provincial Treasury for the delay. However, the Treasury, which oversees the department's financial matters, has pushed back, stating that it cannot approve the purchase because Education has no money.
The KZN DoE is underwater financially and is expected to run out of money by the end of October. It is struggling to pay many service providers and has entered into delayed payment arrangements with some of them. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube met with the provincial government this week to discuss the department’s challenges.
She met with Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka, Finance MEC Francois Rodgers, and Premier Thami Ntuli, among others. They jointly acknowledged that there are currently no legal or financial instruments that empower the national Department of Basic Education to directly provide additional funding to provinces. The only constitutional mechanism available is a Section 100 intervention in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which all parties agreed would not be desirable.
They agreed that the province will pursue a multi-year financial recovery plan, targeting savings of up to R1 billion per year through payroll clean-ups, more efficient procurement of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM), contract reforms, and improved oversight of spending.
A source with understanding of the textbook matter stated that while the department's financial challenges have largely had a minimal impact on teaching and learning in schools, this could change at the start of the next school year.
“The fact of the matter is that the children returning to schools next year will not have textbooks,” said the source.
“The Treasury has not signed off on the new purchase order to produce textbooks for the next school year. Normally, at this time, the textbooks would have been produced, and the department would be starting to distribute the books to different schools across the province in preparation for the start of the next school year, but that has not happened.”
“The department has a service provider who is contracted until 2027, but the service provider is not in a position to produce the books without the order. Because the department has been facing financial difficulties for the past few years, it has not been able to pay him in an efficient manner. For instance, if the contract is worth R6 million, the payment would be stretched over time; for example, the service provider would be paid R300,000 one month and R1 million another month,” the source concluded.
Hlomuka said some schools purchased stationery and books themselves, while others rely on central procurement. “For central procurement, we have a cost of about R780 million, which is part of our budget. We just need the Treasury to allow us to proceed. We have started the application process with the Treasury.”
The Treasury clarified that it was not to blame for the matter and stated that the department cannot make the purchase due to insufficient funds.
“KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Treasury wishes to correct an inaccurate narrative to the effect that the department is withholding the approval for the purchase of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) by the KZN Provincial Department of Education.”
It said the DoE was placed under a Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) Section 18 intervention after overspending its 2024/25 budget with excessive accruals at year-end.
“The Treasury can confirm that Education currently does not have the required funds for the procurement of LTSM for the upcoming school year. The Treasury is therefore unable to approve the request to place an order as funds are not available. “Treasury and Education will work jointly to resolve this challenge before the commencement of the school year,” it concluded.