An Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) audit has revealed that more than 22,000 teacher employee records do not align with government payroll data, while over 610,000 learners—both South African citizens and foreign nationals—remain undocumented in the national schooling system.
Basic Education Portfolio Committee Chairperson Khomotjo Maimela confirmed the findings and outlined the committee’s response. Maimela commended teacher unions and educators for spearheading the initiative that exposed these systemic irregularities, describing the report as a critical step toward addressing accountability in basic education.
The portfolio committee has resolved to engage individually with each province to review specific findings from the ELRC report. “We want to understand what each province is going to do,” Maimela stated, emphasizing that provinces are expected to institute forensic investigations where fraud is suspected and to account for discrepancies stemming from administrative errors.
Maimela expressed disappointment that the Western Cape provincial education department opted not to participate in the verification process. While the department initially raised concerns regarding the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), Maimela noted those concerns had been addressed, yet the province still declined to engage. The committee further contested Western Cape’s subsequent claim of exclusion, stating the province was included in the initial process but voluntarily withdrew.
When asked which provinces warrant the most urgent attention, Maimela identified three: KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Western Cape.
KwaZulu-Natal, which carries the country’s largest teacher salary bill and is currently under a court directive to present a financial turnaround strategy following litigation by a teaching union, also recorded the highest number of suspected “ghost teacher” cases. Gauteng reported the highest concentration of undocumented learners, the majority of whom are South African citizens. The Western Cape remains under scrutiny due to ongoing challenges related to learner admissions and unplaced students.
Maimela stressed that provinces should not wait for parliamentary summons before acting. “They should start acting on some of the issues that they have revealed,” the Chairperson said, urging immediate corrective measures to address both payroll anomalies and learner registration gaps.
The portfolio committee plans to convene provincial briefings to monitor implementation of remedial actions and ensure transparency in resolving the discrepancies highlighted by the ELRC audit.
