KZN Premier says he had no clue schools were having financial difficulties
DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli says he had no clue that schools in the province were unable to operate daily due to financial difficulties, and he has committed to turning the situation around.
Several schools in KZN have revealed that they can't function due to a lack of money.
Teacher unions NATU (National Teachers' Union) and SADTU (South African Democratic Teachers Union) have approached Ntuli's office about the issue.
They say the allocations are not meeting the norms and standards for school funding.
Ntuli says this will be resolved over the next few days.
The norms and standards for school funding provide a framework for how government funds should be allocated to public schools.
But with schools across the province pointing out they have not received what is due to them, teaching and learning have been disrupted.
Teacher unions and pupils at some schools have resorted to pickets.
But after meeting the union, Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli admitted this was news to him.
'I wasn't aware of the situation, that it was such bad.'
The premier says he will address the situation.
'As from next week we will be beginning to pay schools, in two weeks' time no school must be owed and going forward, I said for the norms and standards, the government must not owe schools.'
Ntuli has committed R900 million to be allocated to schools across KZN.
He says the money will be sourced from all other departments in the province.
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Ntuli's spokesperson, Bongani Gina, said that after the meeting with the unions, Ntuli expressed the urgent need to resolve the long-standing financial constraints affecting the provincial Department of Education. 'The Premier directed Treasury to prioritise the reallocation of R900 million within the provincial budget. 'The reprioritisation will involve sourcing funds from across departments to restore the functionality of schools by ensuring they are adequately resourced to operate effectively,' said Gina. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza described the additional allocation as a victory for no-fee schools as the past three years have been struggling to function. 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She said this had left the school principals with the responsibility of using their own money to keep the school functioning. 'It has become the responsibility of principals to pay from their pockets for the running of the schools, which is unfair. 'That is why you find that the schools would be out of electricity because they cannot pay the electricity bills,' said Caluza. She said that while principals would use their money to buy printing papers and other material required for teaching, the schools were no longer able to participate in sports and music competitions because there was no money. 'Even teachers find it very difficult to attend workshops and carry out their teaching duties. 'Principals would complain about running out of money, which led to quarrels within their families due to their inability to meet family responsibilities. 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