By Doreen Mokgolo
- Parents at no-fee-paying schools are being asked to pay up to R500 to help cover water and electricity costs.
- The Democratic Alliance says the Gauteng Education Department is dumping financial responsibilities on schools without help or proper consultation.
No-fee-paying schools in Gauteng have been ordered to start paying their own water and electricity bills, and parents are being asked to help cover the costs.
The Gauteng Department of Education told these schools, mostly in poor areas, that from 1 April 2025, they must pay their own municipal bills and use fundraising to cover shortfalls.
The Democratic Alliance say the move is unfair and illegal.
“Learners will sit in dark classrooms and have no water if these schools cannot pay the bills,” said the party’s Sergio Isa Dos Santos.
He said the department failed to consult or train the schools properly before dumping the costs on them.
The party found that 34 no-fee-paying schools in Eldorado Park alone are now forced to raise money for their municipal bills. Parents are being asked to pay between R250 and R500 as part of these fundraising efforts.
Dos Santos said the plan will hurt education, and it goes against the spirit of supporting poor communities.
“Willow Crescent Secondary gets R53,000 a month from the government but has a municipal debt of R638,000,” he said. Ernest W. Hobbs Primary owes more than R4.7 million. How are they supposed to survive?”
He added, “This is not financial management. It’s financial dumping.”
The department says the decision is based on Section 21(1)(d) of the South African Schools Act, which allows school governing bodies to manage their own finances.
But the DA says this section was forced on schools without checking if they had the skills or systems to handle the responsibility.
“Gauteng residents deserve a department that pays its own bills, not one that pushes the problem onto struggling schools,” said Dos Santos.
The party has now submitted urgent questions to Education MEC Matome Chiloane, demanding answers.
Pictured above: MPL Sergio Isa Dos Santos.
Image source: @sergio_isa
