After disruptions to the June examinations due to a funding crisis and a work-to-rule campaign by teachers, Grade 10 to 12 learners in KwaZulu-Natal began writing their exams on Wednesday. This follows weeks of uncertainty and operational paralysis in schools across the province.

Learners across KwaZulu-Natal were caught in the crossfire of a funding crisis that left schools without basic operational resources during the critical exam period. While not officially on strike, teachers have engaged in a "work-to-rule" campaign in protest against the provincial Department of Education's failure to disburse essential financial allocations.

Nomarashiya Caluza, the provincial secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in KwaZulu-Natal, told Daily Maverick that there was no strike under way, but that teachers had engaged in a "work-to-rule" action.

"This is not a strike. Work-to-rule means teachers report for duty and perform only the tasks they are paid for, nothing more, nothing less," she said.

Caluza explained that the action was triggered by the department's failure to provide schools, particularly no-fee-paying ones, with their basic financial allocations, known as "norms and standards". She said the department had cited national budget cuts as the reason for the delays, which left schools unable to...