When School Fees Close the Doors of Learning: A Grandmother’s Victory Against Socio-Economic Exclusion 

By: Emihle Majikija

The transition from primary to secondary school often brings new possibilities, hopes, and beginnings for a learner. 

In November of 2024, Zethu* received news that her granddaughter, Gugu*, had been provisionally accepted into the 2025 Grade 8 class at Hyde Park High School – a fee-paying public school in the leafy, affluent suburbs of Sandton, north of Johannesburg.  

Zethu let out a sigh of relief. Unlike many other learners who often miss weeks of school at the start of the year while waiting for placement, her granddaughter’s future was certain.  

Gugu’s uniform had been bought. Her stationery was ready. She was one step closer to embarking on her secondary school journey. What remained was to finalise her enrolment. Zethu and Gugu’s uncle, Sipho*, made their way to Hyde Park High School to tick off the last item on the back-to-school to-do list.  

Their joy was short-lived and quickly turned into disappointment as Gugu’s details were untraceable on the school’s system. This meant the Grade 8 prospect could not be enrolled.  

Anxious, confused and frustrated, the pair was directed to the Deputy Principal.  Here Zethu and Sipho learnt that Hyde Park High School operated differently to other public schools. Learners sit for Independent Examinations Board (IEB) and not the National Senior Certificate Examinations which was one of the reasons the school required a hefty registration fee – IEB exams had to be paid for upfront. They were therefore informed that Gugu would not be enrolled without an upfront payment of a R12 000 registration fee and, if they were unable to afford it, they should apply to a no-fee paying school. The school was also not open to the family’s request to pay the registration fee in instalments, and the next window for fee-exemption applications would only open in March or April 2025.  

Zethu had never considered a no-fee paying school as her granddaughter had always attended well-resourced fee-paying schools through fee exemptions. 

Zethu, a 70-year-old pensioner, raised Gugu after the deaths of her parents. During the course of her schooling and with the assistance of fee exemptions, Gugu had successfully made her way through primary school and was looking forward to Grade 8.  

For Zethu, this new chapter symbolised the promise of a quality education and an opportunity for a better future. As a grandmother, she had taken comfort in believing that her modest pension would not be a barrier to her granddaughter’s place at a good school.  

But this belief had been shaken. The utterances from the Deputy Principal implied that children from low-income households could be turned away from a school like Hyde Park High. 

Zethu was shattered by the school’s response. But her resolve remained.  

On 19 January 2025, the family contacted SECTION27 via email, seeking assistance to challenge the unfair discrimination against both her and Zethu based on their socio-economic status and secure Gugu’s right to basic education. 

SECTION27’s paralegal, Kholofelo Mphahlele, and Head of Education Rights, attorney Zeenat Sujee, sent a letter to the school demanding the immediate enrolment of Gugu, and simultaneously requested intervention from the Gauteng Department of Education to address the violation of Gugu’s constitutional rights to education, dignity and the prohibition of unfair discrimination.  

The initial letter from SECTION27 was followed by a series of persistent follow-up emails and telephone calls. Eventually, the school agreed to comply to the law. 

As a caregiver to a child whose parents have both passed on, Zethu was granted a full exemption from school fees and the demand for a hefty registration was waived. Two weeks later, Gugu was finally able to put her uniform to good use and join other learners at school. 

The law is clear on what should be done in instances where unaffordable school fees stand in the way of a learner’s education. Section 29(1)(a) of the Constitution clearly states that “everyone has a right to basic education”. Section 9, the equality clause, prohibits unfair discrimination based on socio-economic status. Under the South African Schools Act (‘the Schools Act’), fee-paying public schools are allowed to determine and charge school fees at an amount decided by parents at a general meeting. Section 39(5)(a) of the Schools Act clearly forbids schools from requiring registration, administration or any other fees apart from school fees.  There is no limit to how much schools can charge, but parents who cannot afford the school fees are entitled to apply for a fee exemption which provides full or partial relief, depending on their circumstances. Furthermore, Section 5 of the Schools Act expressly prohibits unfair discrimination against learners in the admission process, including the refusal to admit a learner because their parent cannot afford fees. 

The Regulations Relating to the Exemption of School Fees in Public Schools also provide extensive guidelines on how exemptions must be handled. According to the Regulations, a person like Zethu, who is the caregiver of an orphan, is automatically exempt from paying school fees. These Regulations are what enabled Gugu to complete her schooling at fee-paying schools up to now. 

No child should ever be denied the right to learn, least of all because their parents cannot afford school fees.  

Through its legal support to Gugu and Sipho, SECTION27 used the law to challenge the school’s discrimination related to Zethu’s enrolment based on her socio-economic status, ensuring that the state was held accountable for providing equitable access to basic education. 

Have you been denied a fee exemption? Here is what you need to know 

To fully enjoy the benefits of this automatic exemption, caregivers must submit: 

1. A completed fee exemption form which is supplied by the school; and 

2. A court order, affidavit or sworn statement by a social worker which attests to their status as caregiver to an orphaned child. 

Once the school has this information, you cannot be forced to pay school fees, or your child denied participation in any activities of the school. 

*Not their real names.