School Fees
Click here to create your own exemption of school fees letter
About School Fees Exemptions
SCHOOL FEES EXEMPTIONS*
All children, including those who are refugees, have a right to education. Parents are not required to pay school fees if they are unable to afford them, and if fees exceed 10% of the total family income.
Forms to apply for school fee exemptions should be available at your local school.
A child may not be excluded from school due to non-payment of school fees by his or her guardians.
No public school may require an admissions test or reject students based on religion or ethnicity.
Who can attend School?
All children have the legal right to a basic education.
- No one can be refused admission to school based on race or religion
- No child can be denied entry to any state school because the parent(s) have not paid
school fees or are behind on school fee payments - You cannot be charged a registration fee, administration fee or be asked to pay fees
up front at a State school - A state school is not allowed to administer any test relating to admission
- No child can be refused entry because the parent/s don’t subscribe to the mission
statement of the school
What is the difference between “no fee” and “fee-charging” schools?
If your school is declared a “no fee” school by the Minister of Education (because the school is located in a poor community), you do not have to pay ANY school fees, including activity or extra mural fees
All other State schools are “fee charging” schools
What if you cannot afford school fees?
Parents are NOT legally obliged to pay school fees if they do not earn enough money. If you are struggling to make school payments, you can apply for school fee exemptions.
This includes refugees and asylum seekers.
How do you apply for School Fee exemptions?
Forms should be available at your local school.
Once you have completed the form, you send it back to the school with a letter to the School Governing Body (SGB) asking for a school fee exemption.
The letter needs to be accompanied by a payslip or a letter from your employer.
If self-employed or unemployed, then you must provide an affidavit explaining how you support the child.
The SGB has 30 days to accept or reject an application.
If you are unhappy with the decision, you have 30 days to appeal in writing to the Head of the Department of Education in your province.
You can ask a teacher or principal to help you with the exemption process.
Automatic Exemption
The following children qualify automatically for fee exemption:
- Orphans in an orphanage and in child headed households
- Learners with foster parents
- Learners placed in youth care centres or in the care of a family member
- Learners whose parents receive a social grant in their name. For example, a Child
Support Grant
*Information obtained courtesy of Black Sash
Conditional Exemptions
These exemptions are granted to a parent who qualifies for partial exemption but, owing to personal circumstances beyond his/her control, cannot pay the reduced amount.
It also applies to parents who do not qualify for exemptions but supply information that proves an inability to pay school fees owing to personal circumstances beyond their control.
Formula used
To calculate the formula, fill in the following values:
E = School fees as a proportion of the family income.
F = Annual school fees, for one child. (If a parent has more than one child at the same school and the fees are not the same for all of them, the highest fees must be used in the calculation).
A = Additional monetary contributions demanded by the school.
C = Combined gross income of parents.
100 = The number by which the answer arrived at in brackets is multiplied so as to convert it into a %.
*Information obtained courtesy of Black Sash
Full Exemption
If the school fees are more than 10% of the combined annual gross income of both parents, the child is fully exempt from paying school fees.
Formula used
To calculate the formula, fill in the following values:
E = School fees as a proportion of the family income.
F = Annual school fees, for one child. (If a parent has more than one child at the same school and the fees are not the same for all of them, the highest fees must be used in the calculation).
A = Additional monetary contributions demanded by the school.
C = Combined gross income of parents.
100 = The number by which the answer arrived at in brackets is multiplied so as to convert it into a %.
Gross Income is your money before deductions such as tax, UIF ,medical aid contributions and pensions
Example – Full Exemption
A single parent has one child in one school. This learner’s annual school fees are R2, 500 and the additional school expenses over the year come to R20. The parent’s gross income for that year is R25, 200.
The parent qualifies for a full exemption because the school fees are 10% of her income.
*Information courtesy of Black Sash
Partial Exemptions
If the school fees are between 3.5% and 10% of the combined annual gross income of both parents, the child will qualify for partial exemptions
Formula used
To calculate the formula, fill in the following values:
E = School fees as a proportion of the family income.
F = Annual school fees, for one child. (If a parent has more than one child at the same school and the fees are not the same for all of them, the highest fees must be used in the calculation).
A = Additional monetary contributions demanded by the school.
C = Combined gross income of parents.
100 = The number by which the answer arrived at in brackets is multiplied so as to convert it into a %.
Example – Partial Exemption
A parent has one child in a school. The annual school fees are R2, 500, annual additional monetary contributions amount to R20. The parent’s gross annual income is R30, 000
The school fees are between 3, 5% and 10% of the parent’s total income. The parent will
therefore qualify for a partial exemption.
- A parent with one child at the school who spends 8, 5% of her income on school fees qualifies for a 91% fee exemption.
- 91% of R2, 500 is R2, 275
- R2, 500 – R2, 275 = R225
- The parent will therefore have to pay R225 in school fees for one child
*Information obtained courtesy of Black Sash
Click here to create your own exemption of school fees letter