School Fees: The Exemption Almost Nobody Applies For

There is a right in South African law that almost nobody uses: if school fees are consuming too much of your household income, you can stop paying them, lawfully, by applying to the school.

Not by negotiating. Not as a favour. The governing body must apply a formula, and where the answer crosses a line, exemption follows.

For anyone raising a child on a stretched salary, three things are worth knowing before the next fee statement arrives. There is a calculation you can do yourself in a minute. There is a category of parent who qualifies automatically. And there is a list of things a school may never do to your child over money — a list that includes withholding a report.

The formula, which you can run yourself

The regulations set out one calculation. Written out, it is:

E = ((F + A) ÷ C) × 100

where, in the regulations' own words:

• E is school fees as a proportion of the income of a parent;
• F is the annual school fees, for one child, that the school charges;
• A is additional monetary contributions paid in relation to the learner's attendance at, or participation in, any programme of the school; and
• C is the combined annual gross income of parents — both parents together, or the single parent's total where the learner has only one parent.

Two mechanical rules matter. Only one child's fees go into the formula. And where you have more than one child at the same school on different fees, the highest fee is the one used.

Then the threshold that decides most cases:

If E is 10% or more, you qualify for total exemption.

So take your annual fees, add every compulsory monetary contribution, divide by your household's gross annual income, and multiply by 100. If that number reaches 10, you should not be paying school fees at all.

Below 10%, a sliding scale applies. Partial exemption is determined by a table in the regulations keyed to your E figure and the number of children you have at public schools that are not no-fee schools — the more children, the lower the threshold at which relief begins. Ask the school for that table when you collect the form; it is obliged to apply it, and the regulations carry worked illustrations of the whole calculation.

And note what A sweeps in. The Act defines school fees to include any form of contribution of a monetary nature made in relation to a learner's attendance or participation in any programme of the school. Compulsory contributions are part of the sum, not extras sitting outside it.

Automatic exemption, with no formula at all

A separate route exists, and it requires no calculation.

Automatic exemption — which is total exemption — is available to:

• a person with the responsibility of a parent for a child placed in a foster home, youth care centre, place of safety or orphanage;
• a kinship caregiver of an orphan, or of a child who has been abandoned and is without visible means of support;
• a person who receives a social grant on behalf of a child; and
• a child who heads a household.

That third one deserves emphasis, because it covers an enormous number of households. If you receive a social grant on behalf of the child, you qualify for automatic total exemption from school fees.

The proof required is modest: an affidavit, a confirmation affidavit from a social worker or other competent authority, or a court order. The regulations define "competent authority" broadly enough to include a chief, a minister of religion, a headman or a local councillor.

If the other parent will not disclose their income

Until recently this was where applications died. The formula runs on combined income, so a single parent whose co-parent would not hand over payslips had no way to complete it.

The Basic Education Laws Amendment Act fixed that with effect from 24 December 2024. A parent may now submit an affidavit to the governing body as proof that the other parent:

• is untraceable;
• is unwilling to provide particulars of their total annual gross income;
• has failed to provide them despite a reasonable time passing after a request; or
• has provided incomplete or inaccurate particulars and refused, or failed, to correct them.

The Act says that affidavit constitutes sufficient proof. A court order or other documentary evidence may be submitted as well, but is not required.

Applying: the form, the deadlines, and your right to be heard

The process has firm timelines on the school's side.

You apply annually, in writing, on the form the principal must supply, sealed in an envelope addressed to the chairperson of the governing body and delivered by hand or registered post. You will be asked for combined annual gross income with salary advice attached, income from investments, profit from any business, the school fees, and any additional monetary contributions.

The governing body must decide within 30 days of receiving the application.

You may ask to present your application in person, or through someone you designate. If you request it, that opportunity must be given.

You must be notified in writing within seven days of the decision — and of the reason for it. The same seven days applies to a decision on automatic exemption.

A refusal must tell you about your right of appeal.

One provision quietly protects the person who applies late in the year: exemption is calculated retrospectively from the date on which you qualify, not from the date you got around to asking.

The appeal, and what it stops

If you are dissatisfied, you may appeal in writing to the Head of Department within 30 days of receiving the decision, giving your reasons and the relevant information.

Then comes the part worth knowing before you appeal. Within 14 days the Head of Department must notify the governing body that the appeal has been lodged and that it must take no action under section 41 against you until the appeal is finalised.

An appeal, in other words, suspends collection. That alone makes it worth lodging on time.

A decision already granted can be revisited if your financial position changes substantially — but only after the governing body notifies you of the intended action and the information it relies on, and gives you the chance to rebut it and show cause.

What a school may never do

This is the section to quote when a child is being used as leverage.

A learner may not be deprived of the right to participate in all aspects of the school's programme because a parent has not paid, and may not be victimised in any manner. The Act then lists examples, and the list is not exhaustive:

• suspension from classes;
• verbal or non-verbal abuse;
• denial of access to cultural, sporting or social activities, or to the school nutrition programme for a learner who qualifies for it; and
• denial of a school report or transfer certificate.

That last item is the one most commonly ignored. Withholding a report or a transfer certificate over unpaid fees is expressly named as victimisation.

Two more limits apply. No learner may be refused admission because a parent cannot pay or has not paid, does not subscribe to the school's mission statement, or has refused to sign away claims for damages. And since December 2024, a learner whose parent has not produced the required admission documents must nonetheless be allowed to attend, with the principal advising the parent to obtain them.

What a school may do

Fairness runs in both directions, so it is worth being accurate about the school's position.

A public school may enforce payment by process of law against a parent who is liable. But it may do so only after establishing that the parent does not qualify for exemption, that partial-exemption deductions were made where applicable, and that the parent completed and signed the prescribed form. Where a parent simply never applies, the school may proceed if it can prove written notification — by hand or registered post — that the parent failed to apply, and the parent still does not pay after three months.

Before taking those steps the governing body must also have considered reasonable forms of payment other than cash.

And there is a hard limit on what can be taken: a public school may not attach the dwelling in which a parent resides.

Two things schools charge that they may not

Worth checking your statement against.

No public school may charge any registration, administration or other fee — only school fees as defined in the Act.

A school may not charge different fees within the same grade based on curriculum or extramural curriculum.

What to do this week

1. Run the formula. Annual fees plus compulsory contributions, divided by combined gross annual income, times 100. Ten or more means total exemption.
2. Check the automatic route first. A social grant received on behalf of the child, kinship care, foster placement or a child-headed household means no formula is needed.
3. Ask the principal for the form and for the partial-exemption table.
4. If the other parent will not disclose income, prepare the affidavit. It is sufficient proof.
5. Apply in writing and keep proof of delivery. Thirty days starts on receipt.
6. Ask to present it in person if your circumstances need explaining.
7. Appeal within 30 days if refused — and remember that an appeal stops collection until it is decided.

If a social grant is part of your household income, our guide to SASSA grants covers what is available and who qualifies. And for the other half of the annual school bill, our comparison of where to buy the cheapest school uniforms is the practical companion to this page.

None of the above applies to independent schools, where fees are a matter of contract.

For everything else, start at our money guides.

Frequently asked questions

How do I qualify for a school fee exemption in South Africa? Apply to the governing body of the public school. It must apply a formula: school fees for one child plus additional monetary contributions, divided by the combined annual gross income of the parents, multiplied by 100. If that figure is 10% or more, you qualify for total exemption.

What counts as school fees in the calculation? Fees determined under section 39, and any form of monetary contribution made in relation to the learner's attendance at, or participation in, any programme of the school.

Is there an exemption that does not need a calculation? Yes. Automatic total exemption is available to a person receiving a social grant on behalf of a child, a kinship caregiver of an orphan or abandoned child, a person responsible for a child placed in a foster home, youth care centre, place of safety or orphanage, and a child who heads a household.

What if the other parent will not give me their income details? Since 24 December 2024 you may submit an affidavit stating that the other parent is untraceable, unwilling to provide particulars of their income, has failed to provide them after a reasonable time, or has given incomplete or inaccurate particulars and refused to correct them. That affidavit constitutes sufficient proof.

How long does the school have to decide? The governing body must decide within 30 days of receiving the application, and must notify you in writing within seven days of the decision, with reasons.

Can I appeal a refusal? Yes, in writing to the Head of Department within 30 days of receiving the decision. The Head of Department must then notify the governing body that it may take no action under section 41 until the appeal is finalised.

Can a school withhold my child's report for unpaid fees? No. Denial of a school report or transfer certificate is expressly listed as victimisation, which is prohibited.

Can my child be refused admission because I owe fees? No. A learner may not be refused admission on the grounds that a parent is unable to pay or has not paid school fees.

Can the school take my house? No. A public school may not attach the dwelling in which a parent resides.

Can a school charge a registration or administration fee? No public school may charge any registration, administration or other fee — only school fees as defined in the Act.

If I apply late in the year, am I only exempt from then on? No. Exemption is calculated retrospectively from the date on which you qualify for it.

Does this apply to private schools? No. These provisions govern public schools. Fees at independent schools are a matter of contract.