Government policy on school admissions and school fees is guided by three basic principles:

• Equity: to make sure that goverment gives the same basic resources to all government schools
• Redress: to give more government resources to learners in historically disadvantaged communities so that they have more money for textbooks and stationery, and to build schools – especially no-fee schools – in areas where none exist, and to upgrade existing schools
• Access: to make sure no one is excluded from attending school on the basis of race or religion or because they cannot afford the cost of school fees.

The South African Schools Act says that all children between the ages of 5 and 15 have to go to school. Children can be accepted in Grade R in the year they turn

5 and in Grade One in the year they turn 6 (this applies to both state and private schools). No learner can be refused admission to a school on the basis of their race or religion or their inability to pay school fees.

No learner registering at a state school can be charged a registration fee or asked to pay fees in advance. No learner can be refused entry to a state school because his or her parents have not paid outstanding school fees.

Where possible, learners should be given access to a state school within 5 kilometres of their home. In some provinces the education department assists learners with transport when they live more than 5 kilometres from school.

The provincial department of education makes regulations guiding admissions. Here are some practical steps that can be taken if a school tells a learner that it is full:

• Ask the principal if the school had been officially declared full by the Education Department. Ask to see the letter which says the school is full. If there is no letter then the school must accept the learner. If the school refuses permission then contact the district office
• If the school does have a letter then the department must find a place for the learner in the nearest school to where he or she lives.