Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has stated that improving school infrastructure is fundamental to raising the quality of education in South Africa. Addressing the Cape Town Press Club on Monday, she confirmed provinces have access to approximately R16 billion annually for school infrastructure through the national education infrastructure grant.

However, Gwarube acknowledged this allocation remains insufficient against a staggering national backlog estimated between R120 billion and R140 billion. The minister urged provinces to prioritise the available funds for physical construction projects.

For me that was really quite urgent that we need to clear the backlog. But and I was very, very clear, I think, even in my public announcement, that this does not mean the issue of unsafe sanitation in this country is dealt with… Provinces have R16 billion in the kitty for infrastructure. Those things must be a priority.

Gwarube confirmed that the Sanitation Appropriate for Education initiative has cleared the immediate backlog of unsafe sanitation. She stressed that continuing maintenance and new pit latrine incidents mean the sanitation crisis is far from over.

Funding Gap And Shifting Demographics

In an interview published by GroundUp this week, Gwarube directly quoted the infrastructure shortfall at R140 billion. She called on provincial education departments to focus spending on bricks and mortar rather than non-essential services.

The minister highlighted that rural-to-urban migration patterns are rendering some rural schools empty while city schools face dangerous overcrowding. Smarter, data-led infrastructure planning is required to direct building programmes where learner populations are actually growing.

I would want provinces to prioritise building bricks and mortar.

The 2025 national matric pass rate reached 88%, a statistic the minister cautioned against using as a primary measure of system health. She pointed to foundational literacy as a more urgent indicator, stating that functional illiteracy among young children should concern every South African.

Reform Beyond Matric Results

Gwarube has consistently linked learning outcomes to the physical environment, describing quality education as a cornerstone of economic growth and individual empowerment. Her statements come two years into her tenure, with the backlog still massively outweighing available yearly grant funding.

Earlier this month at the launch of a new maths and science school in the Eastern Cape, she warned that the infrastructure deficit requires urgent partnerships with the private sector. The minister stressed that reform must outlast political battles and confront institutional weaknesses directly.

The Department of Basic Education is expected to provide updated infrastructure delivery targets and expenditure reports to the portfolio committee in the coming weeks.