Department delays paying fees
A YOUNG matriculant’s future is uncertain after a private school has seemingly broken the law by withholding her statement of results due to over R16000 in unpaid fees.
Doris Mojapelo has issued a frantic plea to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DMV) to honour the agreement it had with her daughter’s school, SA College Private School in Arcadia, Tshwane, which is refusing to release the young woman’s results.
Mbulelo Musi, spokesperson for the DMV, said administrative challenges with an initiative to educate military veterans’ children was causing delays in settling learners’ debts.
However, Section 25(13) of the National Protocol on Assessment – a national government regulation – prohibits both public and private schools from withholding reports and results “from learners for any reason whatsoever”. The fees now stand at R16 700, where documents from the DMV from as early as February stated that it would pay for, among other things:
School fees.
Prescribed books. Transport not more than R8 000 only in cases where the school is at minimum of 15km from the learner’s household. Correspondence from the school showed that the department had yet to settle the hefty bill, despite the assurances it had issued to the institution in April that it would process the funding within the R20000 threshold for the programme.
Werner Olivier, a director at the school, said The Star had misunderstood the facts, and that Mojapelo had been to the school this week and was given the results.
“Mrs Mojapelo visited the school earlier this week to come and discuss her daughter’s Matric results. The
results were shared with her and at no point were her results withheld. She also indicated to the school that she is still struggling with the Department of Defence and Military Veterans who she holds responsible for the account and that she will come and visit the school on Friday once she has more information. No results were withheld,” Olivier said.
He added that the school and Mojapelo had, for two years, tried to amicably resolve the matter, and had a good relationship with the learner, who achieved a bachelor pass and a distinction in Tourism.
But Mojapelo disputed that she was given her child’s results, saying they were only showed to her but withheld until she settled the bill.
The DMV said the learner’s fees would be settled this month, adding that the department had issues with private schools which refused to co-operate, and this caused problems.