The Minister of Basic Education and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) are committed to ensuring that learners from low-income families are not excluded from accessing quality education due to their inability to pay school fees.
It must be noted that, in terms of section 5(3)(a) of the South African Schools Act (SASA), no learner may be refused admission to a public school on the grounds that his or her parent is unable to pay or has not paid the school fees determined by the governing body of that public school.
Several key mechanisms have been put in place within the legislative and regulatory framework to address this challenge:
- No-Fee schools (Quintiles 1-3): In accordance with section 39(7) of the SASA, the Minister annually determines the national quintiles for public schools. Public schools in Quintiles 1 to 3 have been designated as no-fee schools, meaning they are required to provide education free of charge. This policy benefits over 80% of learners in over 80% of schools in the country. These schools are fully funded by the State, ensuring that learners from disadvantaged backgrounds are not financially excluded.
- Fee-charging schools (Quintiles 4-5): Public schools in Quintiles 4 and 5 charge school fees and are required to provide for equitable criteria for the total, partial or conditional exemption of parents who are unable to pay school fees, as stipulated in section 39(2)(b) of the SASA.
- Fee exemption procedure: Section 39(2)(b), read with the Regulations relating to the exemption of parents from payment of school fees in public schools, provide the criteria and procedures for fee exemptions. If a parent is unable to pay school fees charged, they are entitled to apply for an exemption. The school principal is responsible for informing parents of the procedure to apply for exemptions from school fees. Public schools are required to investigate whether a parent qualifies for exemption, particularly when a parent is in arrears for a month or more. This process must be undertaken by the School Governing Body (SGB), as per regulation 3 of the said Regulations.
- Support for public schools that grant fee exemptions: Public schools that exempt parents from school fees must compensated in terms of paragraph 170A of the National Norms and Standards for School Funding, ensuring that no school is financially disadvantaged when providing fee exemptions to qualifying parents.
- Equitable criteria and procedures: The Minister, in consultation with the Council of Education Ministers and the Minister of Finance, has promulgated regulations to ensure that the exemption process is equitable and fair. These regulations outline the criteria for exemption and ensure that no learner is financially disadvantaged or excluded from education due to the inability to pay fees.
Through these measures, the Minister and the DBE ensure that no learner is priced out of education and that the financial burden of school fees does not prevent learners from accessing quality education.