Eastern Cape High Court rules provincial education department underfunded schools
The Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda ruled in favor of three public schools, declaring the provincial education department's withholding of 33.75% of school funding allocations for 2023-24 and 2024-25 unconstitutional, unlawful, and invalid. Judge Thembekile Malusi also found that decisions made between November 2020 and November 2022 to reduce per-pupil funding below national targets were unconstitutional, unlawful, and invalid. The court stated that a provincial education department must comply with paragraph 114b of the Amended National Norms and Standards for Public School Funding before providing less than target per-pupil allocations. The department is now required to report to the court every three months for the next year on its compliance and steps to ensure correct allocations for the 2027-28 financial year. The Legal Resources Centre LRC, representing the schools, welcomed the ruling, noting the department's delay in resolving the matter. The LRC emphasized that schools and their governing bodies should use allocated funding to meet student needs, and a professor from North-West University highlighted the judgment as a victory for public education and students affected by underfunding.