Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane called out the Democratic Alliance (DA) for being “disingenuous and politically opportunistic”, after the party launched a petition to stop the Gauteng provincial government (GPG) from cutting 64% of the operational budgets at Quintile 5 public schools, from April 1.

DA Gauteng spokesperson for Education Michael Waters said the alleged budget cut was not a minor adjustment by the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE).

“It represents a systemic dismantling of functioning public schools. These are schools that receive no fee-exemption subsidies, no infrastructure grants, and no additional learner support, yet are now expected to survive on barely a third of their current allocations. This is an indictment of Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government,” he said.

The DA accused the GDE of failing to provide a credible financial justification for the scale of the cut.

“No risk assessment has been conducted to establish the impact of the budget cut on schools. Furthermore, no explanation has been given for targeting frontline education spending,” said Waters.

But the GDE has rejected what it described as “false, misleading, and reckless” claims that it cut funding to Quintile 5 schools by 64%.

It said this was a “deliberate distortion” of information that the department had placed in the public domain as far back as October 2025, stressing that at no point did the GDE implement a 64% reduction in school funding.

“It is dishonest to accuse provinces of cutting school funding while remaining silent about the national budget cuts imposed by National Treasury. The Department of Basic Education (DBE), under the DA, is fully aware of the financial challenges confronting Gauteng and other provinces, yet these challenges remain unresolved,” Chiloane said.

While he dismissed claims of budget cuts, he explained that an interim funding realignment process had been implemented, owing to severe budget reductions imposed by National Treasury, and which affected all provinces.

The GDE explicitly outlined the rationale, scope, and timing of the adjusted funding levels for Quintile 5 schools, effective from April 2026, in line with the National Norms and Standards for School Funding gazetted by the DBE.

Schools were also formally notified through indicative budget allocation certificates in September 2025, Chiloane said, citing ample notice and transparency.

The GDE clarified that this process did not constitute a budget cut, but rather a realignment to nationally prescribed adequacy rates, correcting the historical funding of certain Quintile 5 fee-paying schools.

“The current funding arrangement is a temporary stabilisation intervention designed to keep the system functional and compliant while the department manages a R444-million shortfall in the current financial year and a projected R160-million shortfall over the 2026 MTEF period,” it said.

Despite these constraints, the department said the GDE had prioritised the protection of classrooms, ensured that teaching and learning continued uninterrupted, and honoured its commitments to Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) payments in full and on time.

“It must be stated clearly and without ambiguity: Gauteng’s financial pressures are the direct result of national budget cuts. The Department of Basic Education, under the leadership of the Democratic Alliance, is fully aware of the funding pressures facing provinces, including Gauteng,” Chiloane reiterated.

He said the DBE had been “repeatedly engaged” on the matters, yet meaningful relief had not materialised, leaving provinces to absorb the impact.

He said the DA’s attempts to deflect responsibility onto provinces, without considering the role of national departments in policy-setting and budget allocations, were “misleading and irresponsible.”

“If there is a petition to be delivered, it should be delivered to the Department of Basic Education, which is responsible for national funding norms and allocations, and which the DA itself leads. Provinces cannot be scapegoated for implementing national policy under constrained budgets that we do not control,” Chiloane stated.