Parents question back-to-school supplies that schools ought to cover

As learners head back to school this month, concerns have been raised by parents who say they're expected to shell out thousands for items which they say ought to be covered by the school.

One CapeTalk listener complained about her grade eight son's high school in Athlone, Cape Town, saying she'd been left with a bill of R5,500, which included, beyond his uniform and stationery, 15 rolls of toilet paper.

Matakanye Matakanya, the General Secretary of the National Association of School Governing Bodies says the South African Schools Act 1996 sets out what public schools in South Africa are supposed to provide. When it comes to public schools, it is important to distinguish between fee-paying and non-fee-paying schools.

"The no-fee schools, meaning nobody pays school fees, so everything is done by the government. So there's no way you can just rock out and say bring stationary, bring this and that, those things are to be done by the Department of Education."

Fee-paying schools are split into Quintile four and Quintile five schools and cater to the least poor 40% of learners.

Makatanya explains that these schools receive less state funding than no-fee schools but are allowed to charge fees for better resources.

"Government subsidises them, because there are some parents who are unable to pay school fees. That money will be paid by the government."

However, Makatanya says it is sometimes the case that no-fee schools take advantage of the 'ignorance of parents'.

"We know that some individuals in no-fee schools take advantage of the ignorance of parents, where those parents should not pay anything."

To listen to Matakanya in conversation with Cape Talk's John Maytham, use the audio player below: