THE DEPARTMENT STRONGLY REJECTS THE 1.8 BILLION CLAIMS OF SALARY OVERPAYMENTS
The Department of Education strongly rejects the misleading claims published by The Citizen on 31 October 2025, alleging that the Auditor-General’s Report found R1.8 billion in irregular salary payments to former or deceased employees.The Auditor-General’s 2024/25 Report does not contain any such finding. In fact, it recognises the Department’s continuous improvements in managing salary payments and preventing overpayments.
The Department is currently finalising investigations into 1,270 cases of salary overpayments amounting to R19 million a fraction of the amount alleged and recovery processes are already underway in line with Treasury regulations.Most overpayments result from administrative delays such as late reporting of deaths or resignations by schools and HR units. When these are identified, the Department immediately initiates recovery from benefits or beneficiaries.In the past year the Department has implemented staff training to improve compliance with termination procedures and strengthened circuit-level monitoring systems for early detection of potential overpayments.
The Auditor-General, in the 2024/25 Annual Report (page 238) on material irregularities acknowledged the Department’s progress in addressing salary overpayments through improved control measures and timely recoveries.The Department remains fully committed to the highest standards of financial accountability and ethical governance, ensuring that every rand of public funds is managed with integrity, transparency, and in the best interest of the learners and educators.
