Schools plan on fundraising as lockdown rules ease
AS THE lockdown regulations ease, schools are planning on starting fundraising drives because they don’t have enough money to operate.
Many schools are given less than R150 000 a year to operate. This amount is a small fraction of their annual costs and they rely on fundraising drives to help sustain themselves. However, since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, they have not been able to fundraise.
Parents have largely been unable to pay school fees because of salary cuts. Many also lost their jobs due to the pandemic. This has resulted in schools using up their savings just to cover costs.
Mohammed Shah, the school governing body chairperson for Swanvale Primary in Phoenix, said: “Our savings have run dry. Right now, we owe the eThekwini Municipality R150 000 for electricity and water. If we don’t fundraise, we will not survive this year.”
Shah said every year they received R60 000 from the Department of Education towards the running of the school.
“Fundraising and the collection of schools fees were our main source of income. Parents could not pay because of job losses and salary cuts. We tried to fundraise by having a casual day, in which we allowed children to wear their casual clothing at a charge of R10. This was done a few times in the year.”
Shah said they planned on events like a debs ball and a fun run this year.
“The lockdown regulations have eased. We will follow all protocols at these events. The events will only go ahead if the infection rate is low.”
Harithasen Naidoo, the principal of Stanger Manor Secondary School, said it had been tough for schools. “We need to start fundraising because many of the parents whose children attend our school have lost their jobs and cannot pay school fees. I will be waiting for a directive from the Department of Education before we start planning any events.”
He said he was allocated just under R150 000 from the department to maintain the school for the year.
“This money does not last. We had plans to do renovations and refurbishments. We had to put that on hold to ensure we had enough money over the past two years.”
A principal from a school in Chatsworth, who did not want to be named, said his school would not be able to function without the fundraising.
“I received about R100 000 a year from the department. The cost to run the school per term is more than the amount allocated for the year. Parents are in tears because they cannot pay. They have lost their jobs, and those who managed to get jobs again are earning half of what they used to. Their priorities are paying bonds, rent, water, electricity bills and putting food on the table. School fees are no longer a priority, and we cannot blame them.”
He said the fundraising would start off small, like with cake sales, raffles, and allowing pupils to pay to wear their casual clothing.
“We will, at all times, follow protocol. Once the infection rate starts to drop, we will re-assess the situation and maybe introduce the fun walk or a car show.”
Michelle Dickens, chief executive of TPN Credit Bureau, said the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns resulted in a larger proportion of parents not paying school fees in full.
The organisation focused on the financial challenges of the education and property sector.
“Given that schools rely on this income to meet operational costs, the knock-on effect of this non-payment is that schools are struggling to meet financial commitments. As a result, as many as 66% of government schools and 65% of private schools have been forced to make budget cuts.”
She said only 23% of government schools and 26% of private schools managed their budgets on the fees collected, while 11% of government schools and 9% of private schools were forced to use their reserves to cover expenses.
“Repairs and maintenance were prioritised by 20% of government schools and 14% of private schools, while 3% of government schools and 9% of private schools prioritised retrenchment packages. Of those schools who made payroll cutbacks, 38% of private schools cut back on permanent teachers. Government schools made no cutbacks on permanent staff as these employees are paid by the National Department of Education.”
Dickens said bad debt was exacerbated by less income since March 2020.