All you need to know about school

YOU WILL find a complete guide to the 25 000 public schools in South Africa online at the Department of Basic Education website as well as summaries on sites such as www. schoolguide.co.za. Below we provide edited answers from them to the most common questions:

AT WHAT AGE MAY MY CHILD START SCHOOL?

According to the South African Schools Act of 1996, schooling is compulsory for all South Africans from the age of seven (Grade 1) to 15, or the completion of Grade 9. The age of a child entering Grade 1 is age five turning six by June 30 in the year of admission.

If parents feel that their children are not yet ready for school, they are allowed to admit them at six turning seven for Grade 1.

WHAT DOCUMENTS DO I HAVE TO SUPPLY TO ADMIT MY CHILD TO A SCHOOL?

For public schools, parents are required to supply the child’s unabridged birth certificate, the child’s immunisation card and a transfer card or last school report, if the child has already been to another school. A child may be registered provisionally if these documents are not immediately available.

If you are not a South African citizen, you should also include a copy of your study permit or your temporary or permanent residence permit. If you don’t yet have a permit, you will need to submit evidence that you have applied for permission to stay in South Africa.

CAN MY CHILD ATTEND ANY PUBLIC SCHOOL?

A parent may register his or her child at any public school. However, most schools have established areas or zones they favour when admitting pupils. The order of preference includes: Children whose parents live in the school’s “feeder zone” – this includes parents who live at their place of work, such as domestic workers.

Children whose parents work in the feeder zone.

The rest are admitted on a firstcome, first-served basis, and may be placed on a waiting list. However, the provincial department of education is obliged to find a place in school for every child.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO PAY?

Many public schools – which receive a state subsidy as well as fees from parents – are on a par with private schools at a fraction of the price.

A good public school, offering smallish class sizes (about 25-odd), may cost R8 000 to R20 000 a year compared with a private school, costing about R30 000 to R70 000 a year, according to the school-guide website.

WHAT IS A QUINTILE?

Government funding is organised on a quintile system, in which public schools are divided into five categories.

Quintile 1 caters for the poorest 20% of schools and these schools receive the highest state allocation.

So poorer schools are given larger state subsidies, and so have lower school fees, while wealthier schools are given smaller subsidies, and have higher fees.

WHAT IF I CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY SCHOOL FEES?

At all public schools, parents may apply to the governing body for a reduction or an exemption from school fees. If both parents’ annual earnings are less than 10 times the yearly school fees (before tax), the child qualifies for a full fee exemption.

Partial exemptions can also be made for parents with financial problems. This generally requires proof of income.

WHAT IF I’M HAVING TROUBLE GETTING MY CHILD INTO A SCHOOL?

Call the Department of Basic Education’s toll-free hotline on 0800 202 933, contact your provincial education department, or contact the Education Rights Project.

HOW LARGE WILL MY CHILD’S

CLASS BE?

There is usually some correlation between class size and fees. The average teacher-to-pupil ratio in South African schools is 1:30.

WHAT IS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT?

Any teacher administering physical punishment to a pupil faces prosecution for assault, and may be fined or even jailed.

Corporal or physical punishment can take many forms, including hitting with a hand or an object such as a cane, belt, whip, shoe or ruler, slapping, kicking, shaking, burning, pinching or pulling hair, forcing someone to stand in an uncomfortable and undignified position, denying or restricting someone’s use of the toilet, denying meals, drink, heat and shelter as a form of punishment, or forcing someone to do excessive exercise.

Teachers, too, have a responsibility to report parents they believe to be abusing their children.

DO PARENTS HAVE A SAY IN THE RUNNING OF THEIR CHILDREN’S SCHOOL?

Yes. National policy on state schools requires that the school governing body (SGB) – made up of management, teachers, pupils (at high school) and parents – plays a large part in how the school is run, within a national framework.

ARE SCHOOL UNIFORMS COMPULSORY?

Yes, in almost all public and private schools.

ARE CHILDREN ALLOWED TO WEAR RELIGIOUS DRESS TO SCHOOL?

In terms of the Constitution, all pupils may not be prohibited from wearing particular attire – such as yarmulkes and headscarves – to school. Schools are obliged to have uniform policies that accommodate pupils’ religious beliefs.

CAN I HOME-SCHOOL IN SOUTH AFRICA?

There’s a growing worldwide trend towards home-schooling and South Africa is no exception, with thousands of families opting to home-school their children.

Permission must first be sought from provincial authorities, and various requirements must be met, such as a weekly timetable and a learning programme.

See the Department of Basic Education website for details on home-schooling requirements.