No budget for security due to high salary bill – Lesufi

High salary bill which constitutes 80% of Gauteng department of education's budget has stifled efforts to increase security at schools.

MEC Panyaza Lesufi has voiced out concerns about the safety of teachers as the department does not have budget for security.

Speaking outside the home of Thembisile Ngendane, the deputy principal who was shot dead outside Phomolong Secondary School in Tembisa on Friday, Lesufi said he would rather hire a teacher as the department does not have budget.

“We have serious issue of security, as a result we have now invested in e-security services but can't cover all the schools. We have already covered 137 schools, but we have over 2,000 schools.

"People should understand that departments of education and health receive large chuck of the budget but 80% goes to salaries and we are left with 20% which is used to build schools, buy stationery and also pay for water and lights,” Lesufi said.

For the 2021/22 financial year, Lefusi's department has been allocated R1.3bn.

He said the department used to have security guards who volunteered in all the schools, but unfortunately the association of security guards in the country took the department to court.

“They said we were employing people who are not security guards and they wanted us to use the services of a security firm. However, we don’t have a budget for that. We accepted and withdrew volunteers from our schools and ever since then we have been hard hit at schools,” he said.

Lesufi said he hoped that they could come into common grounds with the association of security guards.