A Karoo high school announced on Wednesday that it will close its doors indefinitely from next week, saying the Eastern Cape education department has allegedly failed to pay some of its teachers.
But the department said it is dealing with the matter and that Middelburg High School will remain open and continue operating as normal.
Middelburg High School is located in Middelburg, a town located in the upper Karoo region of the Eastern Cape.
In a notice, the School Governing Body said the school has been left in a serious financial crisis after spending more than R700,000 of its own money on teacher salaries.
It said the department has not paid the salaries since 2025, and, as a result, it can no longer afford to keep the school running, and will be forced to close.
“The SGB regrets to inform you that the school will be closed from Monday until further notice,” the school said.
“This difficult decision follows the department of education’s continued failure to fulfil its constitutional duty to appoint and pay educators.
“Since 2025, the school has been forced to cover the department’s obligations by paying these salaries from its own limited funds.”
To date, it said, the school has paid out more than R700,000 in salaries that should have been settled by the department.
“We can no longer sustain this financial burden without compromising the operational integrity of the school,” it said.
“We understand the impact this has on learners and families.
“However, we cannot continue to function when the department fails to provide the necessary human and financial resources required by law.”
Education spokesperson Velani Gola said the department was aware of the situation.
“I can so long affirm that the department is cognisant of the Middelburg High School situation and is actively addressing it,” he said late on Wednesday night.
“Classes will continue as per normal schedule on Monday.
“SASA unequivocally delineates whose prerogative it is to formally close any school.”
SASA is the SA Schools Act.
It governs how public schools operate and sets out the powers of schools and education departments.
The department said only the head of department can officially close a public school.
IOL understands the school qualifies for eight educators.
This includes one principal, one head of department and six post-level-one teachers.
According to the 2026 post-provisioning norms, the school had 199 learners as of August last year, with a learner-to-educator ratio of 24.9.
The learner numbers were made up of 38 Grade 8 pupils, 50 in Grade 9, 38 in Grade 10, 39 in Grade 11 and 34 in Grade 12.
The school did not apply for an additional growth post for 2026 and no extra educators were allocated.
The school has two vacancies for Afrikaans teachers for Grades 10 to 12.
There are currently no additional Afrikaans educators available, meaning the school may appoint two temporary teachers who could later be converted into permanent posts after 90 days.
However, the challenge in the Chris Hani West district is that most applicants are retired or previously resigned educators.
This makes the process more complicated, as permission must again be obtained from the head of department before any appointment can be finalised.
Teacher’s union Naptosa’s executive director Basil Manuel said: “The school has run out of money and the department still owes it funds.
“This is a desperate situation for the school.
“But if this forces the department to come to the table, that would be a good thing, but it is risky because the department will likely look for someone to blame.”
Manuel said small schools have always battled to stay afloat.
“If the department does not immediately appoint a temporary educator, schools generally pay these staff members themselves, placing an enormous burden on school finances,” he said.
“The department is directly responsible for the challenges faced by schools like this.”
A similar situation unfolded at Humansdorp Senior Secondary School when it shut its doors for a day last month due to a similar issue.
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