Public schools are funded by the government and through school fees and/or school fundraising. Laws and regulations governing school fees are as follows:

• The South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) as amended by the Education Laws Amendment Act, 2005 (SASA)
• The Regulations Relating to the Exemption of Parents from the Payment of School Fees, 2006
• The Amended National Norms and Standards for School Funding, 2006
• The Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools, 1998

The government pays most of the teachers’ salaries and bigger building costs, and makes some contribution, per learner, to pay for the equipment and running costs. Over and above the government’s contribution, parents of learners pay school fees that contribute to finance some schools’ operating expenses.

According to the South African Schools Act (SASA), the SGB of a school must take all reasonable measures within its means to supplement the resources that are supplied by the government to improve the quality of education that is provided to all the learners at the school.

No-fee and Fee-charging schools

Schools are divided up into 5 categories or quintiles, with the poorest schools being in quintile 1, and the least poor being in quintile 5.

The amount contributed by the state in a quintile 1 school (the poorest school according to the quintile status) will be higher than the amount contributed in a quintile 4 or a quintile 5 school (least poor). In other words, all these schools receive subsidies but the amount varies depending on which quintile the school is determined to be. The amount that the state contributes per learner decreases as you move up the quintiles.

Theoretically, schools falling into quintiles 1 and 2 ought to be no-fee schools, and some schools falling into quintile 3 may be no-fee schools too, although this is voluntary in each province. Parents sending their children to these schools should not have to pay any fees, including registration or activity fees.

In some instances, the MEC for Education may stipulate that a school will be a no-fee school for learners in Grades R to Grade 9 but will charge fees after th