As KwaZulu-Natal schools recover from the devastating floods, the Education Department has had its fair share of challenges, however, it has tabled a budget.
KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu has tabled the department’s R57 million budget.
The budget comes after the devastating floods that affected about 630 schools, 102 of those schools have been announced to be still inaccessible.
As KZN Education had an R6.3bn budget cut, it has led to the department not being able to fill teacher vacancies. Mshengu had emphasized how these changes would have a ripple effect on other aspects of general schooling.
For instance, fewer administration staff members will inevitably lead to delays in admin work in schools.
In an interview, Education HOD Nkosinathi Ngcobo shared:
On the teacher’s side, we tried our best by filling posts for critical subjects.
However, with the department’s new budget being tabled, it has been reported that 90% will go towards compensating teachers in the province.
As the province deals with the aftermath left by the devastating floods, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has shared how schools will start the process of fixing or rebuilding.
In terms of rebuilding the schools, DBE has categorized them into three groups:
Category 1: 41 schools are going to be fixed through the Norms and Standards allocation.
Category 2: 263 schools are going to be fixed by the District offices through the Equitable Share.
Category 3: 300 schools will require to be fixed by professionals as they have suffered the most damage.
This helps speed up the process of recovery in schools throughout the province.
