Shock as Gauteng education dumps municipal bills on no-fee schools

Gauteng transfers debt running into millions to struggling communities

Koena Mashale Journalist
Eldomaine High School’s SGB says it is now expected to cover arrears running into hundreds of thousands of rand.
Eldomaine High School’s SGB says it is now expected to cover arrears running into hundreds of thousands of rand.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU

Hundreds of non-fee-paying schools across Gauteng are facing utility disconnections after the education stopped paying their water and electricity bills, and quietly transferred historical debt running into millions to already struggling communities. 

In 2024, the department took over the responsibility of paying utility bills for non-fee-paying schools.

But after failing to keep up with payments — and racking up debt of more than R300m — it reversed its decision.

In March, the department issued a directive, notifying schools that from April 1, they would be solely responsible for their municipal accounts.

Now, schools are being left to inherit arrears they had no control over, with many receiving disconnection notices for bills that predate the new policy.

Several schools have been slapped with pre-termination letters for debts dating back more than 90 days — some as high as R4m — even though the department’s directive to shift responsibility only came into effect at the beginning of April.

In Eldorado Park alone, 34 schools have been affected by the directive, while others in Tshwane and other parts of the province are concerned about the ballooning arrears.

Some school governing bodies (SGBs) and communities say their schools are barely surviving on the limited funding they receive from the government.

Charis Pistorius, an SGB member at Eldomaine Secondary School in Eldorado Park, said the situation has reached breaking point.

“All of the non-fee-paying schools in Eldorado Park have now been told they need to pay their utilities. The department hasn’t paid utility bills for up to two years in some cases,” she said.

Pistorius said only 25% of the annual allocation has been paid to schools so far, and they are now expected to cover arrears running into hundreds of thousands of rand.

“If you are giving me R410,000 per annum and my utility bill is R1m, I’m left with a R690,000 deficit. How do we bridge that gap,” she asked.

She added: “We are in a historically disadvantaged community with a 45% unemployment rate. How do you raise funds when people are struggling just to feed their families?”

At Noordgesig High, SGB member Ravern Martin said they’ve been ordered to pay over R500,000 for utility bills more than 90 days overdue.

“Last month we managed to pay R27,000, but this month it could rise to R700,000 or R800,000. Six of our classrooms still don’t have electricity, and our administration block is not fully rehabilitated. The province must be clear — if we are non-fee-paying schools, then they need to come to the party,” he said.

If you are giving me R410,000 per annum and my utility bill is R1m, I’m left with a R690,000 deficit. How do we bridge that gap.
Charis Pistorius

Martin said: “We are not just talking about the school here but the whole community. If they want us to start fresh, they must scrap all the old debts and give us a fair start.”

An SGB member from Cosmo City Junior 1 school said Eskom had threatened to disconnect the school due to unpaid bills. 

This is a similar situation to that at Heerengracht Primary School in Eldorado Park, which received a letter of pre-termination from the municipality, saying their account had been selected for disconnection.

“The total outstanding balance on your account is R393,452.02. Your electricity and/or water services will be disconnected if you do not pay R197,914,91 on or before May 15. This amount has been outstanding for more than 90 days.”

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane acknowledged that pre-termination notices had been issued to some schools, and while the department is intervening at the head office level to clear arrears for non-fee-paying schools, he said fee-paying schools are expected to cover municipal costs moving forward.

“There is no malicious intent. Fee-paying schools have the responsibility to contribute to municipal service costs. The determination to be a fee-paying school is made jointly by the school governing body and management. Once agreed upon, such schools are expected to raise revenue through fees to supplement departmental transfers,” Chiloane said.

Opposition parties say this is not just a localised problem.

Sérgio Dos Santos, a DA Shadow MEC of Education in the provincial legislature, said schools in Tshwane are also facing disconnections and that he has submitted parliamentary questions to investigate the full scope. “According to schools I spoke to, pre-termination letters were sent on March 18, not April as the MEC claimed,” he said.

Sowetan has seen some of the municipal bills sent to individual schools. 

Willow Crescent Secondary has a monthly allocation of R52,989.83, but a municipal bill handed to them amounted to a three-month arrear amount of R445,819, while their neighbour, Ernest W Hobbs Primary School, was given a bill of R4.78m, which was in arrears for more than four months.

Goudpark Primary School was billed R4.06m despite having a monthly state grant of R26,529 while Boekenhout Primary with its R33,927 grant was billed R1.2m.

Gauteng education department spokesperson, Steve Mabona, said the department had allocated a total of R671m to quintile 5 schools across the province for the 2024/25 financial year.

“Fee-paying quintile 4 and 5 schools received R838 per learner, while no-fee-paying schools in the same quintiles received R1,672 per learner. The department remains committed to delivering quality education and ensuring that all learners, regardless of their geographical or socioeconomic background, have access to safe, supportive, and well-resourced learning environments,” Mabona said.

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