According to Financial services firm TPN Credit Bureau by the end of 2022, more than 40% of school fee accounts were in arrears.
TPN also reported that 25% of parents did not make any sort of payment at all towards outstanding school fees.
School-Days CEO Paul Esterhuizen says that the cost of education at both public and private schools in the country is expected to rise, with fee hikes in 2023 ranging between 4% and 6%.
We are staring down the barrel of everything becoming more expensive again and inflation is rife, and parents are battling.
Esterhuizen adds that education costs are projected to surpass salary inflation, making it even more difficult for parents to afford education for their children.
School fees are, however, not the only expense for parents – necessities like stationery, uniforms, books, study material, sports equipment, and school trips all add to the monthly bill.
Households across the country are already cash-strapped and are struggling to deal with ever-increasing cost of living due to inflation.
Meanwhile, he warns that the failure to pay school fees also has implications for a person’s credit score, which adds even more to the cost of borrowing.
School days has introduced an initiative that helps parents that are unable to pay school fees.
The organisation has partnered with companies like Standard Bank, Dischem and the TFG group to raise education funds and parents can do so simply by shopping at these School-Days Partners.
We're wanting to create this platform where parents can get involved and then appeal to the public sector to get the resources and make them available.
He continues, “Let's turn the budget, there can be no better place to spend our government's budget than in the education of our children.”
Esterhuizen adds that they want to evoke in parents to have the ability to have the discipline to set aside the money and to plan to pay for those future fees.
Applying for an exemption
According to the Section 39 of the South Africans Schools Act, if parents have enrolled their children at fee paying schools and are unable to pay school fees they should apply for an exemption.
These families can qualify for full or partial exemption from school fees:
- When the breadwinner's annual salary is less than ten times the amount of the school fee.
- When the combined income of the mother and father is less than 30 times the annual school fee.
In addition, all public schools are required to assess whether parents are eligible for full, partial, or conditional exemption from fees. Schools are also required to inform parents in writing if they have not applied for an exemption and encourage them to do so.
