KZN Schools in Crisis: 12,000 Vacant Posts Leave Education System Under Strain

12,000 Vacancies Push KZN’s Education System to the Brink

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is struggling to keep schools and district offices running efficiently as nearly 12,000 posts remain unfilled, from teachers to administrative staff. The situation has become so severe that district offices, the operational backbone of the province’s education system are showing signs of strain.

During a tense portfolio committee meeting this week, provincial treasury officials painted a worrying picture of the department’s financial health. With over R3 billion in unpaid financial obligations, KZN’s education system is not just understaffed, it’s nearly insolvent.

A Department Under Financial Siege

According to the treasury, the department’s finances are in such disarray that it has been placed under a Section 18 intervention, meaning it cannot spend more than R50,000 without explicit treasury approval unless it’s for grants or emergency spending.

Officials revealed that the department owes R508 million in unpaid commitments from previous years and an additional R656 million in accruals and payables. That number could rise sharply once unaccounted infrastructure costs are factored in.

Worse still, R900 million in approved payments are stuck in the government’s accounting system because, as one official bluntly put it, “the department has no money in the account.”

The department also faces a R1.2 billion shortfall in essential learning materials and school support transfers funds that directly affect learners’ access to books, classroom supplies, and exam preparation.

Posts Frozen, Classrooms Affected

To control spending, the department has frozen most new appointments, even for positions that became vacant through retirements and resignations. While this may slow down expenditure, it’s coming at a heavy cost to education quality.

Department CFO Yali Joyi admitted that the slow or non-filling of posts is crippling school operations:

“It is affecting the operations of the department, not only at school level but also at administration level. Learning is suffering due to the huge number of vacancies we currently face.”

Joyi said the department also has over 2,000 posts currently filled that it technically cannot afford to pay for a sign of the deep mismatch between staffing needs and available funding.

She added that a cash injection from the national government could provide temporary relief, but warned that without urgent structural changes, the department risks doubling its debts by year-end.

Teachers, Learners, and Districts Feeling the Pressure

Behind the numbers are real classrooms and communities feeling the effects. Schools across the province are reporting overcrowded classes, burned-out educators, and delayed administrative processes such as textbook procurement and exam coordination.

District offices, which oversee school operations, have also been hit hard. Many now run with skeletal staff, struggling to process school budgets, verify learner data, or deliver timely support to rural schools.

Education analysts warn that the shortage of teachers and administrators could set back learning recovery efforts already hampered by COVID-19 disruptions.

Treasury’s Tight Leash and a Slow Fix

The provincial treasury has taken a firm stance, insisting that the department cannot continue spending recklessly. Officials from the treasury said they are closely monitoring all expenditures, but admitted that forcing schools to operate under such severe constraints will likely worsen morale and performance.

Meanwhile, the Head of Department, Nathi Ngcobo, said that while the department is working on a learner and employee verification process, financial constraints remain the biggest hurdle. “The process has been completed, and analysis is now taking place,” he confirmed.

Still, the immediate future looks bleak. Even as the department negotiates delayed payments with service providers, the reality is that schools and learners will continue to feel the impact long before any long-term solution arrives.

Public Outcry and Concern

News of the 12,000 vacant posts has sparked outrage among parents and teachers’ unions across KZN. On social media, many have called for national intervention, questioning how a province with one of the country’s largest education budgets could be in such disarray.

A Durban parent wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

“My child’s school has been without a maths teacher for six months. This is not just a numbers issue it’s a crisis of leadership.”

Another teacher from Pietermaritzburg commented:

“We’re running double classes and doing admin for three people. The system is collapsing from the inside.”

The KZN Department of Education’s financial and staffing crisis highlights a broader national problem, the unsustainable cost of running provincial education systems without sufficient fiscal oversight.

With teacher shortages, outdated infrastructure, and frozen recruitment, the province’s children are the ones ultimately paying the price. Unless swift action is taken to stabilise the department’s finances and fill critical posts, the learning gap in KZN could widen dramatically, threatening the futures of thousands of learners.

{Source: IOL}

Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter , TikTok and Instagram

For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com