School fees: Government schools( Not
applicable to Private schools of any sort)
This information
document has been compiled by John Brandow after a diligent study of the relative act and
circular 86 that governs the issue of school fees and the right to apply for
exemption and the criteria surrounding such exemption. This has been compiled
to assist parents in any dispute regarding exemption and can be handy to have
available should a parent ever have to debate any issue around school fees
The act that governs Government Schools
and all relevant issues is the South African Schools act 84 of 1996 that
came into effect on the 1st of January 1997.
Circular 86/2007 Date: 04 December 2007 Management of School Fee Exemptions in
Public Ordinary Schools governs the specific issue of the exemption of school
fees.
These are the latest Regulations
that came into effect on 1 January 2007 in order to assist schools and parents
to achieve this co-operatively- That is contained in Circular 86/2007 which encompasses
the present status quo.
Parents encountering
problems to enforce their right to apply and get Exemption from school fees are
advised to download circular 86 and present it to the School Principal in an
interview one has to claim as your right to be heard.
I am going
to discuss the relevant issues in detail here: Where I quote the act the
comments in Red directly thereafter is my interpretation (Views that I will
defend to the nth degree!)
As is required by the
Act parents are required to pay school fees.
Parents, however can apply
for and MUST be granted exemption
according to a formula contained in Circular 86
Here is the exact chronological
sequence on how this SHOULD BE HANDLED BY SCHOOLS
1. The AMOUNT of school fees payable is
determined at the annual general meeting of parents.
2. The School Governing Body and principal
must notify parents of the following:
(OBLIGATIONS OF THE SCHOOL
GOVERNING BODY AND THE PRINCIPAL point( 5 circ 86) (Please note that the regulation prescribes the obligations of
the School governing body AND the Principal – NOT OR THE PRINCIPAL)
a. The AMOUNT of school fees payable as
determined by the annual general meeting of parents. (5.1 circ 86)
b. The EXEMPTION PROCESS. If the parent is in arrears by one or two
months, the School Governing Body must assess the possibility as to whether the
parent qualifies for an exemption by notifying the parents that they are in
arrears and that the parent did not apply for exemption. 5.2 Circ 86
(This notification must come from the
Governing body or the Principal in person – not a clerk in the employ of the
school – see the introduction of point 5 above)
c. The FORM to be completed, to show the
parent is informed about the school fees regulations. The form must be submitted to the District
Office. (See the checklist form in
Annexure A.) 5.3 circ 86
d. The COPY OF THE REGULATIONS which the
School Governing Body must display at the school. 5.4 circ 86
e. The parent’s RIGHT TO PRIVACY for all the
information in a parent’s exemption application. 5.5 circ 86
f.
The
HELP AVAILABLE from the school, if the parent needs help with the exemption
application. (5.6 circ 86)
PLEASE NOTE: The school is not allowed to charge for extra
things like registration, or compulsory extra-curricular activities. If an exemption is granted, the learner is
entitled to the total school programme. 5.7
circ 86
If the School Governing Body
requires more information such information must be directed to the income of
the parent and not to the assets. An
application may not be disqualified merely because the additional information
was not supplied. 5.8 circ 86
THIS IS A
CRITICAL CLAUSE AND IS WHERE SCHOOLS NORMALLY MAKES THEIR OWN RULES NOT IN LINE
WITH THE ACT OR THE REGULATIONS – You whole qualification is calculated from your
gross income according to your payslip (both parents if applicable)
Furthermore, it is unlawful to
withhold a learner’s report card on the basis of non-payment of school
fees. Such actions render you liable to
disciplinary action in terms of the various national and provincial
policies. Point 5.9 circ 86
3.
OBLIGATION OF PARENTS WHO APPLY FOR
AN EXEMPTION (Point 6. Circ 86)
Parents who qualify should apply annually in
writing to the School Governing Body for an exemption from school fees. Point 6.1
circ 86
The parent can request an application form from the school. See the application form in Annexure B. Point 6.1 Circ 86
4.
At the beginning of each school year the
Principal MUST sign a completed annexure A together with the parent/s
responsible for paying school fees (Point 5.3 of circular 86 applies)
Quote from point 3.1
of circular 86 As part of our Constitutional mandate, we have a
duty to inform parents of their right to apply for exemption from the payment
of school fees in public schools.
This is a right afforded you as parent/s to apply
for exemption – the school cannot refuse you the right to apply
There is a misconception amongst many parents that, if they are unable to pay school fees in full or at all, they cannot
apply for the admission of their children to public schools. It is necessary that we correct this notion
in order to effectively promote the right to education. (3.3 of circular 86.
The following is discussed with direct reference as
it appears in Circular 86 The numbers refer to the number in the Circular
6.3 If the school has
not already given a parent a copy of the exemption policy, the parent can demand a copy.
7. SCHOOL FEE EXEMPTION PROCEDURE
7.1 Parents are
LEGALLY ENTITLED not to pay school fees if they do not earn enough money.
7.2 Firstly, consider annual school fees,
including any extra expenses like a school excursion or any extra sports
clothes. It is illegal for schools to
charge any form of ‘registration fee’ or other compulsory contribution for a
parent if such fee or contribution is not part of the school fees.
7.3 Secondly, consider what parents will earn
in that year. This includes salaries,
investments and any business profit. If
it is a two-parent household, calculate the combined gross annual income of
both parents. (taking into account a recent SCA judgment regarding single
parents – see point 7.6 further down)
7.4 Thirdly, when calculating the relationship
between income and the school fees, count the number of siblings, including
siblings in other schools.
7.5 The School Governing Body must apply the
following formula:
7.6 To calculate the
formula, fill in the following values:
E =
school fees as a proportion of the income of a parent.
F = annual school fees, for one child, that a
school charges in terms of Section 39 of the Act.
A = additional monetary contributions paid by
a parent in relation to a learner’s attendance of, or participation in any
programme of, a public school.
C = combined annual
gross income of parents.
Please take note of the following referred to in a recent
judgement about single parents(SCA case number1209/2016 judgment delivered 13
Dec 2017)
Where a single parent does not have the co-operation of the
other spouse/ex-spouse/missing spouse and he/she is not co-operating in
supplying his/her income or details the single parent (definition not specific
apart from”single parent” ) that single parent has the right to apply for
exemption as if his/her gross income is the sole income of the family
unit. It is not the single parent’s responsibility
to then follow up on the other parent apart from supplying the school with
his/her known address, work details etc.
The school has the authority to go after the other parent with full on
debt collecting in any manner they see legally fit.
100 = the number by which the answer arrived at in the brackets is
multiplied so as to convert into a percentage.
a) Total Exemption
If school fees are
10% or more of the total income of the parents, they will be entitled to a
total exemption and will NOT have to pay school fees.
Page 5 to 8 of the
circular describes in detail how exemption is calculated and is not being
quoted here
B) Automatic Exemption
It is illegal to charge any school fees for a
learner:
• who is an orphan, in an orphanage; • who is
an orphan in a child-headed household; • who has a foster parent; • who has
been placed in a youth care centre or place of safety; • who has been placed in
the care of a family member (“kinship caregiver”); or • whose parent receives a social grant on
behalf of the same learner e.g. a child support grant.
In a case where a parent qualifies for
automatic exemption, he/she is required to supply a confirmation affidavit
from a social worker or competent authority in support of the application.
Where
parents wanting to apply for exemption are refused documents there is an example of such an application as part of circular
86 on page 12 & 13 You can copy and
print this and complete and scan and email it directly to the Principal with
proof of your annual income . Emailing
creates a paper trail and the school cannot claim non-receipt.
Proof of annual income.
This is the only criteria that is required, and the following
should suffice:
Copies of both
parent’s payslips not older than 3 months - the accumulated income for the year is normally shown on there.
Alternatively a letter from employers should suffice.
Schools sometimes require copies of bank statements to confirm that there are no undeclared other income - This is contentious but if that is all that is standing between you and exemption why not supply it ?
The following is NOT required and is not mentioned anywhere in
the act or the circulars
1. Details of assets owned.
2. Details of expenses.
3. Details of the
other spouse if he or she is not co-operating in supplying details
( I would
suggest an affidavit to this end regarding the circumstances with any details
the co-operating spouse has of the other party to enable the school to take further
action against the non-co-operating
partner)
4. Letters from banks
confirming that you do not have other bank accounts
5. Credit checks are not required and irrelevant
Page 10 of
the circular 86 – annexure A
Make sure
that this document is completed by you and signed by YOU and the Principal at
the earliest convenience when the school starts. This is your most critical document and
without this being signed by both and copies being kept as per the circular 86
the school cannot institute legal actions
