Eastern Cape schools take government to court over years of underfunding

Three public schools in Makhanda and the Makhanda Circle of Unity are challenging the Eastern Cape education department, the minister of education and National Treasury in the Eastern Cape High Court, saying pupils have been funded consistently below the national per-pupil target. The case, brought by the Legal Resources Centre on behalf of the schools and the community organisation, was due to be heard on 19 August 2026 in Makhanda.

Allegation of a sustained funding shortfall

The Legal Resources Centre says the dispute arises from a 2020 decision by the provincial education department to deviate from the nationally set per-pupil school allocation target. The LRC said that since the end of 2020, schools in the Eastern Cape have been funded below the per-pupil target.

As an example, the LRC noted that in the 2021–22 financial year the per-pupil target was R1 466, but schools in the Eastern Cape received R816 per pupil around 52% of the target for that year. The organisation added that in 2022–23, Eastern Cape schools received 53% of the per-pupil allocation.

Alleged failure to follow required processes

The LRC said these deviations were implemented without prescribed joint plans and without input from the affected public schools. After pressure from schools and civil society, the department announced it would fund schools at the per-pupil target for 2023–24, but the LRC says a portion of each school’s allocation was retained and only 64.25% of each school’s full allocation was transferred to the school.

Voices in support: education experts and unions

North-West University professor Kathija Yassim described the case as being about educational justice and the constitutionally promised right to equitable quality education.

“We cannot continue to celebrate the resilience of schools, principals and teachers while accepting a system that requires them to compensate for structural underfunding,” Yassim said.

Yassim warned that when schools serving vulnerable pupils receive significantly fewer resources, the consequences go beyond finances and affect teaching, learning, dignity and opportunity. She said the case should prompt a national conversation about whether resilience is masking structural neglect.

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) also expressed support for the schools. Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cembi told The Citizen that Sadtu had held a national march in 2025 to the Department of Basic Education and National Treasury as part of the Go Public, Fund Education campaign.

“This is not sustainable. We reiterate our cry to the department to stop short-changing our schools and really fund public education,” Cembi said.

Cembi said the memorandum presented during the march highlighted that the Eastern Cape faced significant budget shortfalls that affected the ability to maintain and improve educational infrastructure. She added that many schools are unable to provide basic supplies and that teachers are often forced to buy materials out of their own pockets.

Provincial response

Provincial education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said he was aware of the court case but that, because the matter was before the court, it would not be appropriate to comment extensively or to pre-empt the court’s determination.

What the case argues

The litigation brought by the schools, Makhanda Circle of Unity and represented by the LRC challenges what they describe as years of underfunding and procedural failings related to deviations from per-pupil funding targets established in 2020. The plaintiffs seek judicial scrutiny of the department’s funding decisions and the allocations schools actually received.