Education
With reference to his reply to question 3 of 7 February 2025:
(1) (a) In the 2024/25 original budget, what portion (amount) of the Cost of Employment was allocated to funding educator posts and (b) on how many educator posts was this allocation based;
(2) (a) with respect to the Minister’s answer that the adjusted budget for the 2024/25 financial year allocated R19,954 billion for the Cost of Employment for Educators, (i) how is this amount arrived at and (ii) with R14,981 billion being spent between 1 April and 31 December 2024, what was the total expenditure for the full financial year and (b) given the “savings” from teacher cuts in 2025, (i) how has this changed the Cost of Employment budget over the MTEF period and (ii) why has the Cost of Employment still increased?
My department has informed me of the following:
(1) (a) R 19.699 billion
(b) Based on estimations used in calculating the basket of posts for educators, about 87.85% of the total budget has been allocated towards the funding of educator posts. Therefore, 87.85% of the total Compensation of Employees (CoE) Adjusted budget (R22.714 billion) equates to R19.954 billion.
(2) (a) (i) To ensure the financial sustainability of the 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Basket of Posts, the increase was due to educators being carried in addition to the staff establishment, the funding of additional growth posts, and the provision for Improvement of Conditions of Service 1% adjustment with further understanding of 4.5% of the increase being absorbed by the department within the baseline.
(ii) The department is still busy finalising the year-end and only has
preliminary expenditure figures for now. The preliminary
expenditure is R19.690 billion.
(b) (i) Whilst the reduction in posts resulted in savings over the MTEF, we
need to continue to manage the cost of employment. To
manage this cost, additional funding was received in the
provincial budget for the provision of additional educator posts
to deal with service delivery pressures in line with the increase in
learner numbers and the concomitant overcrowding in the
classroom.
(ii) To ensure the financial sustainability of the 2025 MTEF Basket of
Posts, the increase is due to educators carried in addition to the
staff establishment, provision for Improvement of Conditions of
Service 1% adjustment with further understanding of 4.5% of the
increase being absorbed by the department within the
baseline, and funding of additional growth posts.
