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The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has strongly condemned several provincial education departments for failing to spend hundreds of millions of rands allocated to vital education grants. The funds, intended to feed hungry learners, improve infrastructure, and strengthen South Africa’s struggling education system, were left unused during the 2024/25 financial year.
What Happened
According to the Department of Basic Education’s 2024/25 Annual Report, seven provinces — Limpopo, Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape — failed to utilise conditional grants earmarked for key education programmes.
These include the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), Maths, Science and Technology (MST) initiatives, and Early Childhood Development (ECD) infrastructure improvements.
Limpopo recorded the most significant underspending, leaving R69.7 million unused. Of this amount, R33.2 million was meant for school feeding schemes, R18.3 million for MST, and R11.3 million for classroom upgrades. The EFF described this as a betrayal of poor learners who depend on school meals and basic learning infrastructure.
“It is inexcusable that in provinces where a majority of learners depend on school feeding schemes, funds meant to sustain them are returned unused,” the statement read.
EFF’s Reaction
The EFF labelled the failure as “a deliberate act of cruelty,” accusing officials of neglecting children’s rights to food and education. The party said withholding such crucial funds undermines equality and dignity, and destroys the foundation of public education.
The statement further noted that Gauteng surrendered R53 million in unspent grants, while Mpumalanga, Free State, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape also failed to use millions meant to improve learning outcomes.
“To refuse to feed children, to withhold funds for science and education, and to neglect early childhood centres is to destroy the very foundation of the nation,” said the EFF.
The Bigger Picture
The report also revealed widespread teacher shortages, with over 31,000 vacant posts nationwide — particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo. The EFF warned that overcrowded classrooms and unfilled positions further deepen South Africa’s education crisis.
The underspending of R28.6 million in MST grants and R37.4 million in ECD funds was described as “equally shameful,” given the dire state of early learning centres and the country’s low pass rates in mathematics and science.
EFF’s Demand for Accountability
The EFF has called for the dismissal of officials responsible for what it terms “incompetence and neglect.”
“South Africa cannot continue to be led by people who lack the political will to feed hungry children while claiming to serve the people,” the statement concluded.
