Schools unleash debt collectors on battling parents

Thousands of parents are choking on school fees. At least 1,000 public schools have called in debt collectors and attorneys to recover unpaid fees. And more parents are applying to be exempted.

"It has been building up over the years and schools are now increasingly struggling to get parents to pay," said Paul Colditz, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools.

Economist Dawie Roodt said the top government schools, some of which charge more than R30,000 a year, usually produced the best results.

"Parents want their kids to get into these schools, which are usually more expensive," said Roodt.

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"Many parents were prepared to take financial risks but ended up unable to pay.

"People's wages are not going up. And people are losing jobs because of the economy. It is really tough out there," he said.

Colditz, whose organisation has 2,000 members, said about half had employed attorneys and debt collectors. "You get those [parents] who refuse to pay or neglect to pay or cannot pay but are a little embarrassed to apply for fee exemption."

The repercussions of non-payment may be dire and could include reductions in teaching staff, leading to bigger classes.

Fedsas appealed to the Department of Basic Education in November to increase funding for fee-paying schools.

"We believe there are far too many office-based officials in the system," said Colditz.

"It is the teacher in the classroom who makes the difference, not the officials, and that will release substantial funds."

The owner of a large national debt-collecting company, who did not want to be named, said clients were mostly schools.

"Sadly, many of the parents who have nothing are the ones who will do anything to pay the fees and often they will not even apply for exemption," she said.

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Felicity, a Cape Town mother of three who admitted she was struggling to pay fees, said she economised in other areas wherever possible.

"I buy the cheapest products. I only drive to church - that's the only place my car goes ... and still I can't keep up with the fees," she said.

Kathy Callaghan, secretary of the Governors' Alliance, said parents should be honest with themselves about whether they could afford high fees.

"Fee-paying schools usually pay for additional teachers, coaches, office staff, cleaners, and maintenance of facilities like sports fields and buildings.

"Services such as [water and lights] are exorbitant - this is not paid for by the state, or should we say that the allocation given by the state is not adequate and definitely does not cover these expenses."

Basic Education Department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said governing bodies should take people's deteriorating financial circumstances into account when they set their budgets.

"Schools are increasing fees annually and yet unemployment is rising and the cost of living is going up. We need to consider all these factors."

Late last year the Western Cape education department said it had made R47.5-million available to assist fee-paying schools "struggling to collect fees from poorer learners".

How the state sets price of education

South Africa's more than 23,700 government schools are divided into five quintiles based on the prosperity of the area they are situated in.

Criteria also include the type of sanitation schools have, whether they have libraries, and whether parents can afford to pay fees.

Schools in quintiles 1 to 3 provide free education. Quintile 4 and 5 schools charge fees to supplement government funding.

Parents able to prove they cannot afford fees can approach governing bodies for exemption.

When exemptions are granted, schools may apply to provincial education departments for partial compensation.

Last year quintile 5 schools received an annual subsidy of R203 per child.

If a parent received full exemption from fees, the state doubled its contribution to R406 - usually a small fraction of the fees.