The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has rubbished claims that Afrikaans schools are being singled out following its decision to cut subsidies for Quintile 5 schools by almost 65%. The department says the view is unfounded, noting that Afrikaans schools make up only a small fraction - 108 out of 657 - of all Quintile 5 schools in the province, and that the cuts apply across the board, not to any specific language group.
Freedom Front Plus has described the department's decision as “an indirect, but obvious, attack on Afrikaans schools in Gauteng… not only placing them under financial strain, but also undermining the sustainability of quality education in Afrikaans” and criticised the lack of consultation.
Advocate Anton Alberts, Freedom Front Plus MPL: Gauteng, said: “In a province where education is already under pressure, it is unacceptable that a specific language community has to bear the greatest burden, without prior consultation or clear justification.”
The Department of Education explained that the decision to review allocations was informed by its financial status and emphasised that Afrikaans schools make up only about 16% of all Quintile 5 schools. “The subsidy cuts affect the entire group, not just Afrikaans schools,” the department said.
The subsidies for Quintile 5 schools in Gauteng are set to be slashed from R900 to just R315 per learner in 2026. The province has 657 Quintile 5 schools, 87 no-fee-paying and 570 fee-paying, including 108 Afrikaans schools, of which 2 are no-fee-paying and 106 fee-paying, highlighting that the cuts affect a broad group rather than any single language community.
Lobby-group AfriForum has also weighed in, saying its legal team is exploring possible action.
Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS), warned that the subsidy cuts will force schools to rely more heavily on fees or fundraising to retain teachers and support staff.
“Schools will have significantly less income for operational expenses. They will be forced either to cut costs or to increase school fees to compensate for the reduced subsidy.”
He confirmed that FEDSAS has engaged with the Department and Minister’s office but is “still awaiting a formal response to our correspondence.”
Deacon said the continued cuts could force schools into difficult decisions about what they can realistically offer, adding: “Parents will increasingly shoulder the financial burden, paying higher school fees on already strained after-tax income. These reductions will exacerbate the economic pressures many families face, potentially impacting access and quality of education.”
Schools say the department did not follow due process, as funding information should have been provided by September 30 to finalise budgets, and warn that, alongside reduced subsidies, they may also lose departmental teaching posts while still covering essential expenses and staff.
The community of Laerskool Wonderboom shared its frustrations, saying it had already lost a deputy principal post due to the cuts. “At Laerskool Wonderboom, we are fortunate to have an involved parent community that contributes through school fees, but many schools in our province do not share this privilege. Where parents cannot pay, or where only a small percentage of fees are received, the impact is devastating.”
Another Gauteng school, which asked not to be named, said it had lost four staff members due to the new personnel provisioning scale for 2026. “The impact on support for our learners (within the framework of our school, serving 10 different ‘disability codes’) will be enormous, with far-reaching consequences. Class sizes will become unmanageably large within the framework of LSEN education.”
A new report by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) highlighted the state of Gauteng schools’ funding and staffing for 2026.
Johnell Prinsloo, an education researcher at SRI, said the report, based on a survey by the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS), shows “an education system in need. Schools indicate that only emergency maintenance work can be done and major repairs or improvements are being postponed... The general impression is that the reduction in allocations seriously compromises both physical maintenance and staff sustainability.”
Prinsloo added that many schools have lost between one and eight jobs, resulting in larger classes and pressure on timetables. “In some cases, the learner-teacher ratios have risen above 1:40.” She said the findings indicate an urgent need to rethink funding, communication and collaboration between schools and authorities.
Mabona said Since 2021, government departments, including Gauteng Education, have faced budget cuts under the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, as the National Treasury has been reducing overall spending to control the national budget and ensure fiscal stability.
He also said that overall teaching post numbers are protected by the GDE, and as such no teacher post has been cut.
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