‘No-fee schools plagued by financial mismanagement under SGBs’

Head of Gauteng Education Department says no-fee schools are plagued by financial mismanagement under School Governing Bodies (SGBs).

Gauteng Education MEC, Lebogang Maile, says that schools in the province owe municipalities more than R500 million, while over R6 million is owed to Eskom.

Maile attributed the debt to estimated billing and rising inflation among other things.

The department’s head, Albert Chanee, says there’s an urgent need for SGBs to be equipped with the necessary training and resources to effectively manage funds.

“In a lot of instances where schools are dependent on funds from parents, they are fee charging. We find that those schools tend to better manage the accounts from the municipalities and are, therefore, able to meet their obligations. The problem comes in what we call no-fee schools, and in no-fee schools, decentralisation is plagued with a number of factors, including the competence level of SGBs who are responsible for the maintenance of that account with the municipalities.”