As school communities continue to bear the brunt of budget cuts, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape requested the provincial education department to brief the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature on its school readiness plans for 2026.
Our request follows on the school readiness report on 2025 from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which echoes observations from the DA public representatives who visited schools at the start of the academic year. This report confirms that aging infrastructure, inadequate security arrangements as well as shortages of furniture and learning materials still undermines the quality of education that can be offered to learners.
At all costs, we must avoid a repetition of the chaos that reigned at the start of 2025. The Northern Cape Department of Education’s decision to pay schools just 27% of funds budgeted for learning materials and only 35% of school hostel subsidies created significant financial shortfalls, leaving school communities scrambling at short notice. The SAHRC report also confirms that this decision pushed financial responsibility on parents and caregivers of learners enrolled in no-fee schools.
I’ve therefore asked for a briefing on school readiness, including admissions in critical grades and of undocumented learners. We need an update on the disbursement of outstanding funds to schools, the functionality of hostels, and progress with learner transport tenders. I’ve also asked for general reports on the state of school infrastructure, particularly in response to the findings raised by the SAHRC on dirty toilets, unhygienic kitchens, and unsafe schools.
There can be no matter more pressing than protecting the rights of school communities.