School fees a burden for parents after lockdowns

CONSIDERING the largely reduced attention children have received from teachers because of the Covid-19 pandemic, parents of some children in grades below matric believe they have performed fairly well.

However, a big concern for them was the school fees that they had to pay in spite of many pupils attending classes for a few days in a week because of the pandemic.

According to debt collection agencies, more parents are in the red since the outbreak of the virus because of unpaid school fees and more, and they project that that figure will rise in the new year.

Michelle Dickens, the chief executive of TPN, a registered South African credit bureau, said bad debt had been a problem before the pandemic.

But it has been exacerbated by the pandemic, and the number of parents who could afford their children’s school fees dropped, mainly because some families experienced the loss or a reduction in their monthly income since March 2020.

“Before the pandemic, 75% of parents were able to pay their school fees. In 2020, only 45% of parents had the means to pay. Parents have continued to struggle financially in 2021, have understandably prioritised other household expenditure, including groceries, transport and health ahead of paying school fees,” said Dickens.

Fortunately, public schools have an obligation to provide exemption of school fees to parents without an income, Dickens reasoned.

Another measure taken at some schools was the payment arrangements made with parents and guardians who could not afford to pay school fees by the end of the stipulated time.

“With 2.1 million jobs lost since the pandemic struck, we desperately need to get the economy back on track and create jobs. Our future and that of our pupils is dependent on the creation of jobs,” Dickens said.

Some parents spoke to the Sunday Tribune about meeting their school fees obligations and how their children fared academically despite the reduced number of school days.

Thabile Ndlovu, whose daughter attended a primary school in Inanda, said she was also happy with her child’s academic results.

“She performed well and has moved on to Grade 3 this year, but she was not attending school fulltime. I am certain she would have performed way better if she attended the full week.”

Ndlovu said she had to think of ways to make ends meet so that she could afford her daughter’s school fees.

Pearl Govender, mother of a Grade 10 pupil in Phoenix, attests to the difficulty of paying school fees and the unproductive time children now have because of the rotational system of school attendance that is in place.

“School fees are getting higher by the day and are becoming unbearable. Secondly, kids are finding it very difficult to cope with work based on the fact they only attend school on certain days, which leaves them to figure out their own way through academic matters.

“I feel the government should impose a reduction in the fees charged and school days should revert to normal,” said Govender.

Vee Gani, chairperson of the Parents Association of KZN, confirmed parents were struggling to afford school fees. “Schools have suffered with the collection of school fees. Some schools only managed to get between 20% and 30% of their fees. Many parents have lost jobs and others were put on shortened working time.”