KZN High Court Orders Education Department to Pay Overdue ECD Subsidies
The High Court of South Africa in Pietermaritzburg has declared that the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department's irregular and delayed payment of subsidies to Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres is unlawful and unconstitutional. On June 23, 2026, the court recognized that all children in South Africa possess a constitutional right to early childhood development, ruling that the department's payment failures infringed upon this right.
The legal action was brought by the KZN ECD Alliance and the Friends of South Africa ECD Forum, represented by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC). The applicants challenged a pattern of inconsistent payments that had left many centres under severe financial strain. According to the LRC, the department had previously ignored or provided inadequate responses to formal correspondence sent between February 2024 and April 2025.
Acting Judge Jennifer Marion accepted a draft order from the LRC after government respondents failed to appear for the proceedings. The court has now ordered the province to compile a searchable report within one month listing all ECD centres receiving subsidies or conditional grants, as well as the total amounts owed to them. All outstanding payments must be settled within one month of the report's completion.
To ensure ongoing compliance, the department is required to update this report every three months starting October 31 until all payments are current. Additionally, the court ordered the department to establish proper subsidy agreements with qualifying centres that clearly define payment timeframes and terms.
Practitioners have warned that these financial failures have direct consequences for young children. Lawrence Mngomezulu, deputy president of the Friends of South Africa ECD Forum, noted that child nutrition has suffered as a result. Some teachers reported going unpaid for months, while other centres were forced to reduce learning materials, delay maintenance, or cut down on meals.
