Government regulations specify the formula that must be used to calculate whether parents or caregivers qualify for a full or partial exemption. The formula takes into account the number of school-going children supported by a parent or caregiver and provides specific guidelines for calculating the amount of partial exemptions.

In terms of these regulations, certain categories of children are automatically exempt from paying fees. These include Child Support Grant beneficiaries and children in foster care. In order to work out whether parents or caregivers qualify for a full or partial exemption, they will need the following information:

• What the annual school fees are of the school
• What the parent or caregiver’s annual income (or earnings) is OR if it is a two- parent household, what the combined gross income is of both parents/care-givers
• How many learners from the same family attend ‘fee-charging’ schools