JOHANNESBURG – Corruption, financial mismanagement, and governance failures are plaguing Gauteng’s public schools, with internal investigators identifying 41 serious cases of fraud across provincial districts.
Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile revealed the findings following a comprehensive internal assessment. The probe directly implicates school principals, School Governing Body (SGB) members, finance officers, and other administrative staff.
According to Maile, data from the investigation proves that corruption remains deeply embedded within the provincial education ecosystem.
Of the 41 cases recorded, more than half (22 cases, or 54 percent) occurred in 2023. This was followed by 13 cases (32 percent) in 2025, and an additional six cases (14 percent) unverified by June 2026.
READ | Education MEC Maile opens up about issues plaguing his department
“This indicates that while the numbers of recorded cases are fluctuating, the problem remains active,” Maile said.
“Corruption has not disappeared. It remains embedded in parts of the system. This persistence tells us that this is not a temporary problem but a structural one.”
The assessment also highlighted a severe geographical concentration of graft, with just four districts accounting for more than 56 percent of all recorded offenses.
The Johannesburg East District is the worst affected area, accounting for 24 percent of all cases. This is followed by Ekurhuleni South at 15 percent, Johannesburg Central at 10%, and Tshwane South at 7 percent.
Maile warned that the geographical spread shows the crisis is systemic rather than isolated.
“This indicates that the problem is not random but spread across multiple districts across the province,” Maile concluded.
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