Western Cape says it's prioritising education despite budget cuts from Treasury

CAPE TOWN - Western Cape Education MEC, David Maynier, said despite Treasury cutting his department's budget, the provincial government still prioritises education.

The Western Cape Education Department has come under fire for its decision to cut more than 2,400 teacher posts from January 2025.

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The department has attributed this to what it called a significant budget shortfall of R3.8 billion over the next three years.

The provincial legislature is expected to debate the cutting of teaching posts on Thursday afternoon.

Maynier said the provincial government gave the biggest slice of the budget to education to show that it cared.

"We have added R6.39 billion to the education baseline over the past three financial years. We have implemented the largest learning recovery programme in the country. We have added 1,800 teaching posts in schools, the largest increase in a decade. We are building more schools faster than ever before through our rapid school build programme."

The MEC said the Government of National Unity (GNU) needs to decide whether basic education is a priority.

"In the past, when it came to a choice between protecting our children's education and bailing out corrupt state-owned enterprises, the previous administration made the wrong choice every time."