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Dipalidated school classrooms.
The Gauteng Education Department says overcrowding, infrastructure backlogs and financial pressures continue to strain the province’s education system.
Learner numbers in Gauteng public schools have doubled from 1.4 million in 1995 to 2.8 million this year.
Provincial Education MEC Lebogang Maile has outlined the department’s response to electricity and water debt in some schools.
He says urgent collaboration is needed to protect teaching and learning across the province.
Maile says, “We need it necessary to provide an overview of the debt that schools owe to the municipalities. The total amount owed to municipalities over 60 days, as at the end of March 2026, is R583.9 million. Included in the total debt is an amount of R4.38 million, which is under query. Houghton schools also owe the power utility as a total of R6.32 million.”
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