Gauteng’s Quintile 5 public schools are receiving less money from the education department than they did last year.
Since April, the Gauteng Department of Education has been paying so-called ‘wealthy’ schools R315 per learner.
That’s down from the R879 paid in 2025, compared with R919 and R1,835 for learners in Quintile 4 and Quintile 1 to 3 schools respectively.
Schools including King Edward VII and Parktown Boys High are among those affected.
Speaking to CapeTalk/702’s Mandy Wiener, Gauteng Education spokesperson Onwabile Lubhelwana initially described the change as a funding realignment rather than a cut.
“The department has not necessarily cut the funding for quintile 5 schools; it just complied with the national norms and standards for school funding.”
But Wiener pointed out that schools were receiving less than before.
“Yes, it is paying less”, Lubhelwana admitted. “Government is paying less because of the budget constraints.”
For years, Gauteng funded Quintile 5 fee-paying schools at the higher Quintile 4 rate, even though it was not legally required to do so, he explained
Lubhelwana said the department had previously been able to give Quintile 5 schools extra money, but could no longer afford to.
“Historically, the government was able to supplement and support them more because there was money to do that. But now, the fiscal constraint pushes the government to just comply with what is required in terms of the school act.”
He said many Quintile 5 schools also had access to school fees, alumni networks and donors, and said the lower allocation should not necessarily affect the quality of education offered at any school.
The principal of King Edward School has previously been quoted as saying that the quintile system needed updating and that inflation and the increased cost of living needed to be factored in.
Lubhelwana said it was a conversation worth having.
“I think I agree with them.”
He added that the number of children entering public schools in Gauteng had grown sharply, putting further pressure on the province’s education budget.
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Sara-Jayne Makwala King
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