Thousands of education and general school assistants in the Eastern Cape are without income after their contracts under Phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative ended on 30 November 2025, with no successor phase yet funded. The programme employed 28,709 people across the province, each earning a gross monthly stipend of R4,000, according to the Department of Basic Education’s implementation framework.
As first reported by the Daily Maverick on 27 August 2026, the programme’s Phase 6 is on hold because of a funding gap and an independent audit of Phase 5 requested by the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The Department of Basic Education confirmed on 30 October 2025 that no decision had been taken to extend or renew the initiative beyond its current phase.
Department of Employment and Labour figures show the UIF disbursed R3,236,140,437 of its R4,013,000,000 contribution for Phase 5 stipends. The future of the BEEI is described as dependent on the 2026 budget process, according to the Presidential Employment Initiative. Dr Kate Philip, quoted by the Daily Maverick, said: “The future is uncertain.”
This is not the first time Eastern Cape assistants have faced financial distress. The Mail & Guardian reported in June 2022 that assistants marched to the provincial education department to demand outstanding stipends. GroundUp separately reported that a forensic investigation was underway after officials were suspended over payroll problems affecting assistants in January 2022.
The BEEI, launched in 2020 as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, placed young people in schools to support teaching, administration, and maintenance. Dr Philip told the Daily Maverick: “This qualitative research tells us the teachers highly value the assistants’ contributions and there’s something special in that because not everyone in the economy gets to hear whether they are valued or not.”
The exact number of assistants now entirely without income remains unverified. The Daily Maverick‘s report that the UIF refused to release further funds pending an audit has not been independently confirmed by a second source. The precise internal funding mechanics of Phase 6 also remain unclear.
CapeFlats will check with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Employment and Labour for updates on the 2026 budget allocation and the audit status by 15 September 2026.