Councillors urge action on school overcrowding
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday October 6, 2025 06:00
According to the area District Development Committee (DDC) report, schools are experiencing frequent blockages, infrastructure wear, and an overall decline in the learning environment due to the excessive number of students. Consequently, councillors assert that the most practical and long-term solution is the construction of additional schools. They emphasize that more schools would not only ease the burden on current facilities but also provide teachers with a more conducive environment to address students’ academic and personal needs effectively. However, financial constraints remain a significant barrier.
The Thamaga/Mogoditshane District Development Committee has reported that the council’s budget is insufficient to cater for this growth, primarily due to a government-imposed budget ceiling cut.
“As a result, funding for new school infrastructure remains limited,” the DDC report states. In response to the challenge, the council is exploring budget rationalisation strategies to make room for urgent education needs.
However, this includes reallocating resources and adjusting priorities to support school development in overburdened areas. The district, which includes five constituencies, 51 council seats, and 35 Village Development Committees (VDCs), currently operates with 29 primary schools and 18 health facilities serving the growing population both day and night. In conclusion, local leaders believe that without immediate investment in education infrastructure, the district risks long-term setbacks in student performance and community development.
They continue to advocate for stronger budgetary support and strategic planning to meet the region’s pressing educational demands. Recently, Thamaga/Mogoditshane chairperson, Molatedi Selala, said the district continues to face significant cash flow challenges, primarily due to insufficient budget allocations.
“For the financial year 2024/25, the approved budget stood at P163, 463,330.00. However, actual expenditure as at March 31st 2025 amounted to P183, 197,030.60, resulting in an over expenditure of P19, 733,700.60. This situation was further worsened by a Revenue Support Grant (RSG) cut of P8, 064,910.00 during the fourth quarter,” Selala said. He said total revenue generated during the year was P160,586,137.21, comprising P5, 608,147.21 from the council’s own sources and P154,977,990.00 from the RSG.
The council chairperson said, unfortunately, this shortfall has led to a continued deterioration of the council’s cumulative General Fund, which now stands at P102, 741,619.02.
Selala said these figures were extracted from the abstracts of accounts for 2024/25, produced on July 02, 2025, and will be formally presented to this House during this current Full Council session. While turning to the 2025/26 financial year, the district’s approved recurrent budget is P192, 291,170.00, an increase by P28, 827,840.00 or 18% from the previous year.
He said this increase is largely attributed to the transfer of Primary Health Care services to the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs.
“As at August 31st, 2025, expenditure stood at P71, 414,447.74, which translates to 37% of the approved budget. This under expenditure is mainly due to delays in awarding procurement tenders,” he said.
He said on the income side, the council’s approved budget from sources is P7, 661,660.00. Furthermore, he said the actual collection as of August 31st, 2025, stood at P1, 532,073.19, reflecting a 20% collection rate. “This under-collection is a concern and calls for vigorous measures to improve our cash flow,” he said.
With regard to the Revenue Support Grant, he said the approved allocation for 2025/26 is P184, 629,510.00. In addition, he said as of the second quarter, P80, 358,634.00 7 has been disbursed, leaving an outstanding amount of P11, 956,121.00 yet to be received.
“We continue to await the disbursement of these remaining funds,” he said.