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The government’s budget allocation for basic education is under increased pressure, as a growing number of parents with children in public schools who pay fees find that they can no longer afford school fees.
This is according to the TPN Credit Bureau, which said that collecting fees is the biggest challenge facing schools in the country.
The budget allocation of the Department of Basic Education for the fiscal year 2020/2021 decreased by 5.3% compared to the previous year. In South Africa, two-thirds of all children attend free schools, leaving the state to pay the bill for their education, he said.
A minority of around 6.5% attend private schools, while the rest of the children attend public paid schools.
The latter, which account for about a third of all public schools, rely on school fees both to pay for additional teachers not funded by the Basic Education Department and for additional costs incurred by the school.
“However, parents with children in public schools who pay fees can request waiver of fees based on their financial situation. This means that public schools that pay fees are increasingly forced to balance collecting fees with waiving fees for parents with little or no income, ”he said.
TPN said the inability to collect all fees owed has negative implications for schools, both from a budgetary and sustainability perspective, given that school fees are the largest source of income for more than 90% of private schools and 60% of private schools. % of the public.
At the same time, public school parents who pay fees cite the high cost of school fees among their top three school-related problems, along with the lack of textbooks and the fact that the size of the classrooms is Too big.
“The challenge that many schools face, even before the Covid crisis, is that paying school fees is not a priority among an ever-growing group of parents who prioritize mortgages, rent, car financing. , store cards and even daily loans on school fees, “said Michelle Dickens, CEO of TPN Credit Bureau.
Dickens noted that this trend has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
The TPN 2020 School Fee Payment Monitor indicates that school fee collection peaked in January 2020 with 61.5% of parents paid.
“During the confinement, less than one in two parents received full payment. August was the worst month for the collection of school fees with only 45.9% of parents paid. This increased in November when 52% of parents were paid, ”Dickens said.
Despite the opportunity to request an exemption from school fees, 21.6% of students who choose not to participate in the education system cite lack of money to pay school fees as the reason for dropping out of school.
“The reality is that the cost of education is not just limited to school fees,” Dickens said.
“What also needs to be taken into account is the cost of transportation to get to the school. Many families cannot afford this, so 66% of public school children walk to school ”.
Given the collateral effects of the economic downturn as a result of the shutdown, it is expected that in 2021 there will be an increase in the number of parents requesting exemptions from fee-paying public schools.
One way that schools can determine whether or not parents really qualify for an exemption is to inquire through a credit bureau. TPN said it communicates with parents on a regular basis regarding their credit profile, which is based on paying school fees.
According to Dickens, schools can make use of credit checks, demand letters and blacklists in the same way as any business.
Read: Schools Aren’t Ready To Open – Survey
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