Maroela Media reports that the Gauteng Department of Education (DOE) announced in a media release last Thursday that no teacher positions in public schools in the province would be cut in the next two years.

The U-turn comes after a large number of schools were informed about two weeks ago that they could lose as many as eight jobs next year. This reduction of posts was apparently only applicable to quintile-5 schools – most of which are Afrikaans – and led to great upset in the education sector. The DOE said that the retention of all existing teacher positions was part of a commitment to protect stability in the education system. “In view of this, no school will lose any teaching posts and no subjects, teachers or phases will be affected. The department continues to prioritise classroom stability and equal access to quality education in all quintiles in the province,” Matome Chiloane, Gauteng MEC for education, advised.

Trade union Solidarity responded that it had taken note of the statement, but added that it was not aware of any schools that have so far received letters from the department to confirm the changed situation. Melanie Buys from the Solidarity School Support Centre indicated that they were grateful that the department had decided not to cut any jobs in 2026, but said they would continue to talk to schools to make sure official communications from the department were being received. However, the department also confirmed that it was continuing with the reduction of almost 66% in subsidies for quintile-5 schools.

• Read the full original of the Afrikaans report in the above regard by Heléne Mocke at Maroela Media
• Read too, Gauteng promises shut illegal schools, fix toilets and retain teacher posts, at TimesLIVE

Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page