It is the duty of the school to inform parents about exemptions. In the case of Two Mothers v Hunt Road Secondary School, the Court held that the school had acted unlawfully in attempting to sue the mothers in question for unpaid school fees, when the mothers in fact qualified for an exemption from fees in terms of their incomes but were never advised by the school of their rights to apply for such exemptions.

To apply for an exemption in fees, the parent must do the following:

• Ask the school for an application form
• Complete the application form. If there is no application form, write a letter to the Chairperson of the SGB requesting to be exempted in part or totally from fees.

EXAMPLE: EXEMPTION FROM FEES: MORE THAN ONE CHILD AT SCHOOL

1. Thabiso has 4 children registered in the same school. The joint annual income of Thabisoand her husband is R25 000. The annual school fees for one learner is R1 500 and the additional costs at the school amount to R50 per learner. What exemption in school fees will Thabiso qualify for?

E (Exemption) = 100 [ F (Annual fees) + A (Additional contributions demanded by the school) ]

[ C (Combined annual gross income of both parents) ]

E = 100 [ R1 500 + R50 ]

[ R25 000 ]

E = 100 [ R1 550 ]

[ R25 000 ] E = 100 x 0.06

E = 6%

The school fees are between 3.5% and 10% of the parents’ total income. The parents will therefore qualify for a partial exemption. What will this exemption be worth to Thabiso? To find this out, look at the Table on page 538 According to the Table, a parent with 4 children attending ‘fee-charging’ schools, who spends at least 6% of the joint family income on school fees, qualifies for an 81% fee exemption.

81% of the school fees of R1 550 = R1 255.50

R1 550 – R1 255.50 = R294.50

Thabiso will therefore have to pay R294.50 school fees for each of her children.

1. According to the exemption formula Mary qualifies for a 7% exemption from school fees for each of her two children who attend ‘fee-charging’ schools. The fees are R500 per year per child. How much of these fees will Mary be exempt from paying for each child?

In the table opposite, look along the top horizontal line until you get to ‘2’ learners. Next, look down the vertical line of the table and find ‘7%’. Move your finger along the 7% line until it meets the ‘2’ learners column. This will tell you that Mary qualifies for an exemption of 83% of the school fees for each child.

To calculate how much this is worth to her:

83% of R500 (the cost of school fees per child per year) = R415 per child.

R500 – R415 = R85.

Mary will have to pay R85 school fees per year per child.

• If the parent needs help in completing the application form or writing the letter, the principal of the school must help him or her.
• Provide a pay slip or letter from the employer explaining how much the parent earns.
• If the parent is unemployed, or self employed, they should make an affidavit saying what they earn or how they support the child, for example, on a pension or a child care grant.

Parents/caregivers who qualify for fee exemptions should apply to the SGB every year.

The SGB has 30 days (one month) to consider and decide on an application. The decision must follow what the law says in the Regulations. In considering an application for exemption, the SGB must take into account:

• The financial position of the applicant, including:
• The total gross annual income of the parents
• The total of their necessary annual expenses
• A statement of their assets and liabilities.
• The number of dependants of the applicant
• The applicant’s standard of living
• Any other relevant information the applicant supplies.

The SGB then has 7 days (one week) to tell the parent/caregiver what it has decided.