Lwazi Mtshiyo, by e-mail Access to basic education is a fundamental constitutional right. The broader framework of the right to basic education is dealt with by the SA School's Act.

Fundamental to accessing basic education is the regulation dealing with exemption of indigent parents from paying school fees.

The regulation is intended to ensure that parents who find themselves in financial difficulty do not pass their financial challenges on to their children and compromise their right to basic education.

According to this regulation, a child who is on a social assistance programme is automatically exempted from paying fees at a public school.

However, practical reality paints a different picture. Poor children who are on social assistance are still faced with the challenge of having to pay school fees from the grants that are meant to ensure that they do not sleep with an empty stomach.

The adverse effect of this is that caregivers now have to choose between the stomach and education, which is an unfair position. And in such a situation a parent will choose the stomach.

Parents who earn very little or face financial difficulty are also entitled to apply for fee exemption at a public school.

It has become an everyday occurrence for our public schools to turn away children who cannot pay the fees.

Very concerning is the fact that public schools require poor people to pay registration fees and school fees when the Schools Act clearly states that no pupil may be refused admission to a public school because his parents are unable to pay a registration fee or have not paid school fees.

The issue of basic education, however, needs to be viewed in the context of not only people doing their work as civil servants, but as being responsible citizens who have an interest in the future of the children of this country.

It could be your child that is barefoot enjoying the winter sunlight during school hours because he has been denied such a fundamental right.

Before we ponder ways of improving our education system, let's ensure that the children we muse about are in the classroom.

The department of education must take the lead.