Gwarube explains why payments to education & general school assistants were delayed

Johannesburg
TN

Thando Ngcobo

8 October 2025 | 9:47

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube says administrative delays during the uploading and verification of attendance registers resulted in the recent payment delays affecting education assistants and general school assistants.

Gwarube explains why payments to education & general school assistants were delayed

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube addressed a media briefing in Pretoria on 8 October 2025. Picture: Thandoluhle Ngcobo/EWN

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube says administrative delays during the uploading and verification of attendance registers resulted in the recent payment delays affecting education assistants and general school assistants.

Gwarube explained that the verification process was a mandatory measure to ensure that government funds are paid to individuals who are actively reporting for duty.

READ: Gwarube confirms education and general school assistants have been paid

She said these safeguards were crucial to avoid corruption and ensure accountability in the programme.

According to the minister, schools and provincial education departments were required to submit attendance registers together with biometric confirmations as proof that assistants were present and performing their duties.

However, an internal investigation revealed that some registers were not uploaded in full by the set deadline.

"This verification is a mandatory step to ensure that government funds are not paid to those workers, or even people who are no longer showing up to work, to provide the services that they are paid for. We all know too well that well-meaning projects are often infiltrated and compromised by corrupt elements which we wish to please respect."

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