Pinched parents pull kids from top private schools

28 June 2015 - 02:04 By PREGA GOVENDER

Struggling parents who fail to keep up with exorbitant school fees at South Africa's top-end private schools have resorted to placing their kids at less expensive private and public schools. Several independent schools have expelled pupils whose parents failed to settle school fees on time, while others have handed over defaulters to debt collectors.St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls in Pretoria, which charges an annual tuition and boarding fee of R174900 for pupils in grades 10 to 12, confirmed this week that it had "excluded a few students" because of their parents' failure to pay fees.story_article_left2Elite private school Michaelhouse said it was in discussions with four families "on excluding boys for breach of contract" due to unpaid fees.This year's tuition and boarding fees for senior pupils at Hilton College and Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal and St John's College in Johannesburg were R219500, R208320 and R194231 respectively.Some overindebted parents are battling to pay for other "extras", including a development levy that could be as high as R6000 a year , a PTA levy, a consumable levy and private individual music tuition.If Hilton College boys love rowing, their parents must pay an additional R5000 annually, and R4000 for those who like canoeing. Parents of pupils attending St John's College cough up an extra R8168 a year for a daily hot lunch for their child.Economic conditions and rising living costs are said to be the main reasons for parents' failure to pay up. Tim Gordon, national CEO of the Governing Body Foundation, said: "This normally happens during an economic downturn."A top Cape Town girls' school that asked not to be identified said that, in the past 18 months, there had been a 450% increase in parents experiencing payment difficulties."After all moral and legal avenues have been exhausted, the last resort is suspension and expulsion of the pupil. Currently, there are several parents who have not met their solemn payment promises and face the ultimate sanction," the school's business manager said.Michaelhouse rector Greg Theron said: "Fewer than 10 accounts are causing us major concerns this year ... These are not at exclusion-level yet, but we are monitoring them closely. We may have one or two who need to leave if they are unable to settle unpaid fees.block_quotes_start Typically the requests for finance exceed the available funding we have to allocate, and careful consideration is given to try and ensure that the funding is assigned as fairly as possible block_quotes_end"We do have a financial assistance committee where parents who are battling to pay the fees can apply for aid. Typically the requests for finance exceed the available funding we have to allocate, and careful consideration is given to try and ensure that the funding is assigned as fairly as possible."Hilton College declined to divulge details of parents who were battling to pay fees. It said, however, that it had handed over the accounts of parents who failed to pay fees to attorneys for collection.Hilton College also said that it was aware of parents who had removed their children since January and placed them in public schools because of financial difficulties.story_article_right1The Reverend Canon Angus Paterson, head of St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls in Pretoria, said: "We have certainly threatened action against some this year and handed over real delinquent payers to attorneys."Parents who are battling can make alternative arrangements with us as long as they stick to these."We try to help through our support structure, but 2016 fees are announced in August and there are usually a few withdrawals following that."Maryanne Lansdown, business manager at St Mary's School in Waverley, Johannesburg, said: "School fees often represent a significant portion of the household budget for families and, for many, it is a real financial sacrifice to send their girls to St Mary's."Bishops principal Guy Pearson said: "Very few boys have had to leave the school annually because of nonpayment of fees. In an exceptional year there may be two or three exits."Paul Colditz, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools, said he would not be surprised if children were moving from private to public schools because of the cash crunch."There are 10% to 15% of public schools that are up there with the rest of the world," he said.govenderp@sundaytimes.co.za..

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