No-Fee Schools and School Fee Exemptions
School fees refer to a monetary amount paid by parents to schools for their child’s education. Whilst school fees cover the education that a child is receiving, the amount may/ does not cover avenues such as registration fees, administration fees, or any extra charges for additional subjects.
As such, the South African Schools Act (SASA) has mandated that all public school School Governing Bodies (SGBs) need to supplement government funding by charging school fees and doing various fund-raising activities.
However, there are some schools who have the right to not charge school fees: they are thus declared “no fees schools.”
What are school quintiles?
The quintile system is used in South Africa to classify public schools into five groups and determine the allocation of various financial resources they will receive.
On the scale, quintile 1 will be the schools that are most in need (i.e. the poorest), with quintile 5 being the ones that need financial aid the least (i.e. least poor).
Annually, the Minister determines the national quintile range for public schools, resulting in the MECs identifying which schools may not charge fees.
If a school falls into quintile 1 to 3, they can be declared as “no-fee schools”. Those that fall in the range of quintiles 4 to 5 are then “fee-paying schools”.
By conducting the quintile range, poverty rankings can be determined nationally and according to the economic situation of communities surrounding various public schools.
What are No-Fee schools?
“No-fee schools” refer to various schools that do not charge school fees. This can be due to a number of factors, mainly the economic level of the community in which the schools reside. If you are interested in researching “no-fee schools” in your area, you can find a list of them published in a Provincial Gazette.
The following schools have been declared No-Fee Schools by the Government.
What is school fee exemption and how to apply?
School fee exemption was created by the South African government to grant underprivileged individuals the opportunity to send their children to school. School fee exemption means that qualifying parents will be free from paying school fees and can rest assured that their child/ children will still get a quality and equal education.
To qualify for school fee exemption, parents would need to obtain an application form from the SGB/ principal of the school and apply for either conditional, partial, or full school fee exemption. It is the responsibility of the school to ensure that parents are informed of the necessary criteria and procedures, and are provided with assistance in the application process.
Should the parent qualify, exemptions are calculated at the beginning of each school year, factoring in past events and situations. The SGB will then notify the parent, in writing, about the outcome of their application in writing within 7 days.
It’s important to note, that although a parent may receive school fee exemption, they can still make voluntary contributions to the school fund. These contributions can be monetary, or even a service that the parent can provide to the school.
What should you do if your exemption application is declined?
Should your exemption application be declined, you may lodge an appeal with the Head of Department of your province within 30 days of receiving the outcome of your application. The principal/ School Fees Committee has the responsibility of helping parents who lodge an appeal by providing them with assistance during the process and explaining the appeal process.
What happens if parents do not pay school fees?
Should a parent not pay school fees (and they have not been exempted from doing so) the public school then has the right to take legal action.
It is vital that the learner of the parent who is not paying school fees still remains in school whilst the case is being conducted. In instances where parents do not pay/ cannot afford school fees, the school may not withhold a learners report card or disadvantage the learner in any way, such as excluding them from school programmes.
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