Africa-Press – South-Africa. South African parents are struggling to keep up with school fee payments, and price hikes are not making things any easier.
According to the CEO of School-Days, Paul Esterhuizen, the costs of education at government and private schools had been increasing, with fees hikes being between 4 and 6%, and this trend was unlikely to change anytime soon.
“Estimations are that this trend is not likely to change any time soon with education inflation expected to continue to outpace the consumer price index by up to 3%.
“Bad news for parents already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis is that the cost of education is expected to ultimately exceed salary inflation,” added Esterhuizen.
The issue with the cost of fees is further exacerbated by the fact there are other expenses to consider for a child’s education – with an already strained budget.
These include uniforms, books, sports equipment, and school trips and tours, among many others.
According to the TPN Credit Bureau, more than 40% of school fee accounts were in arrears at the end of 2022.
It also revealed 25% of parents did not make any payments at all towards outstanding school fees.
“Private school parents who are in default are sent a letter of demand and then given 20 business days to settle the outstanding balance.
“If the parents still fail to make payment the school is within its rights to proceed with debt collection.
“As a last resort, because the best interests of the child are of paramount importance, the school can decide to exclude learners when their parents still fail to pay only after an extensive notice period passes,” said TPN’s legal counsel, Ashleigh Laurent.
Parents at government schools have a little more protection when they fail to make payments.
“Government schools can only take action against non-paying parents once they have determined if the parents qualify for a full exemption, partial or conditional exemption from payment and are required to notify parents in writing if they have not applied for an exemption.
Laurent added:
In South Africa, failure to pay school fees is a by-product of a harsh economic climate.
Interest rates that keep hiking and high inflation also make it difficult for parents to pay their monthly loans such as bonds and vehicle finance.
In its recent report, TransUnion revealed one out of every three South African households said they could not pay their monthly bills and loan instalments in full, while a quarter reported a decrease in household income because of either job losses or wage cuts.
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