The star online
Thursday, November 23, 2006
At least 5-million children in schools countrywide won't be paying fees.
This was announced yesterday and comes after Education Minister Naledi Pandor said in parliament recently that 40% of learners would benefit from attending no-fee schools next year.
Pandor's announcement was welcomed by National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa president Dave Balt, who said they supported no-fee schools, especially in poor communities.
"The challenge to the Department of Education is to ensure the funds actually get to the schools and are utilised appropriately," he said.
However, the SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) was not as pleased and said it would meet with Pandor today to discuss the issue.
Sadtu spokesperson Thulas Nxesi said: "It's easy to declare no-fee schools, but nothing is supplied to the schools or provided by the department. We want to know what criteria were used."
The Education Department was recently challenged in court by 17 KwaZulu Natal schools in and around Pietermaritzburg, Howick and Nottingham Road.
The schools wanted the Pietermaritzburg High Court to declare the new school fee exemption regulation unconstitutional.
Their advocate, Gerhard Roberts SC, argued that it was impossible for the schools to implement the regulation in the new academic year. Some of their reasons were that the schools stood to lose a substantial amount of income, teachers could lose their jobs, and schools would not be able to pay their debts.
The legal representative for Pandor and other respondents, advocate Peter Olsen SC, argued that the new regulation conferred a benefit to a vulnerable group.
"That is parents who are either unable to pay the determined school fees at public schools or who are unable to do so otherwise than under considerable financial stress," said Olsen.
Judge Phillip Levinsohn reserved judgment in the matter.
Yesterday, Pandor's spokesperson, Lunga Ngqengelele, said that in the Eastern Cape, 1,2-million learners at 3 825 schools would benefit from the no-fee policy; in Limpopo 1 015 524 pupils at 2 557 schools; and in KwaZulu Natal 1,17- million pupils at 3 341 schools.
Ngqengelele said that in the Western Cape 132 560 learners at 407 school would be affected, while 383 674 learners at 421 schools in the Eastern Cape would benefit.
He said the full list of no-fee schools per province, their location and allocation was expected to be published in the Government Gazette on December 1.