MIDDELBURG – The School Governing Body (SGB) of Middelburg High School has announced the indefinite closure of Middelburg High School from Monday, 18 May 2026, citing the Eastern Cape Department of Education’s alleged failure to appoint and pay educators.

In an urgent notice dated 13 May 2026, the SGB said the decision was made after the school had been “forced to cover the Department’s obligations by paying these salaries from our own limited funds” since 2025.

According to the notice, the school has paid out more than R700,000 in educator salaries that it believes should have been settled by the department.

“We can no longer sustain this financial burden without compromising the operational integrity of the school,” the SGB stated.

The governing body further said it understood the impact the closure would have on learners and families.

“The school cannot continue functioning when the Department fails to provide the necessary human and financial resources required by law,” the statement said.

Eastern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed that the department was aware of the closure.

As a result, he said that they had dispatched a team to investigate the matter and would have a session with the school management, staff and SGB.

Mtima said that the department condemned any closure of schools.

“It is important that procedures are followed and only the MEC, the head of the department or a court of law can close a school,” said Mtima.

He added that it was important to protect teaching time.

Addressing the issue of educator appointments, Mtima said the school had reported its need for teachers to the department and that the process of appointing educators was being evaluated.

“The department has specific appointment standards which indicate that a school must not be without an educator for more than five days,” said Mtima.

“If the school knows that it is going to be without an educator, it is important to inform the district and circuit management team and to activate the vacant post.”

Mtima further said that every district had a database of educators and that the turnaround time for appointments was usually quick.

He said that the matter would be investigated.

Regarding the more than R700,000 allegedly paid by the school towards salaries, Mtima said the investigating team was looking into the matter.

“The department cannot commit to reimbursement as the matter has to first be investigated,” said Mtima.

He said that the department was awaiting the investigation report before deciding on further action.

Mtima further said the department was intervening to ensure the school remained open.

“It is important that all stakeholders, the school management team, SGB, staff and department, ensure that learners receive quality education,” said Mtima.

The department released an additional statement in which provincial Head of Department Sharon Maasdorp noted with concern the recent unlawful closures of schools by SGBs seeking the attention of the department, condemning it in the strongest terms.

According to the statement, this act has propelled the department to act harshly against those involved.

According to Maasdorp, the closure of schools disrupts teaching and learning, while also compromising teaching time.

She said that this act was against her open-door policy to openly discuss issues.

“All departmental managers are available to openly engage all our stakeholders on all issues pertaining to education. Despite this, protecting the Constitutional right of every school-going learner to ‘access to education’ is paramount to us,” said Maasdorp.

“Due to the seriousness of these illegal decisions taken by SGBs, irrespective of the issues concerned, the department will exercise its powers to prevent this from happening. These include litigating against anyone disrupting our schools including invoking SGB powers should they be found to have acted outside their scope.”

According to Maasdorp, these illegal closures of schools constitute a serious violation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act 32 of 2024 (BELA Act) and the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (SASA).

“Contravening the Constitutional right contained in the Bill of Rights of the Republic of South Africa empowers us to act harshly against anyone found to be illegally closing our schools. We therefore call for restraint, because while everyone has a right, there are also responsibilities expected of them. Therefore, only the MEC, HoD and the court have a right to do so. Anyone else doing so may face a jail term,” said Maasdorp.

The statement indicated that the department called upon all stakeholders and citizens to support schooling and use proper platforms and channels to address their issues.

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