The DA has criticised the Gauteng government for cutting funding for Schools of Specialisation.
Image: File: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has expressed dissatisfaction at the Gauteng Department of Education, claiming the department has slashed funding to Schools of Specialisation (SoS) from R69 million in 2022 to R13 million in 2024, representing a decrease of 81.36%.
The party cries that this reduction hinders the equipping of learners with critical skills needed to grow the economy in fields such as engineering, manufacturing, biotechnology, science and other traditional fields.
"Schools of Specialisation also provide learners with skills such as tourism, hospitality, hairdressing, beauty and nail technology, maintenance, mechanics, and agriculture which can contribute to creating employment opportunities for the 34.4 % unemployed residents of Gauteng," the party said.
Former Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga hailed Schools of Specialisation, but now their funding has been cut.
Image: File/ Jacques Naude, Independent Newspapers
At the opening of the Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation in 2016, the then-Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshega said the Gauteng Department of Education’s SoS programme was an innovation worth celebrating.
"The SoS will play an important role in the skills revolution as envisaged in both the National Development Plan and Gauteng’s Government programme of transformation, modernisation and re-industrialisation."
Motshega said the SoS programme would have an enormous positive impact on Gauteng’s economy in particular and the rest of the country in general.
"Research tells us that, if done right, the basic education is a prerequisite for tackling poverty and promoting short and long-term economic growth.
"Schools of Specialisation locate themselves within this paradigm as they seek to nurture the development of top talent across a sub-set of disciplines, and breed South Africa’s future generation of leaders," Motshega remarked.
South Africa has 21 SoS, all of which are based across the Gauteng province.
According to the DA's Michael Waters, the budget cuts push Schools of Specialisation into a desperate scramble for funding, while Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi claims that his government is successfully empowering youth for the future through these schools.
The DA said they challenge the department's decision to cut the budget and will raise this issue in the Gauteng Education Portfolio Committee.
The party said they would support Schools of Specialisation by adequately funding their core mandate of providing specialised subjects to generate the required specialised skills needed to grow the economy, if they were in charge of the provincial government.
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