By Kefiloe Kajane
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, schools introduced the days exchange rule where students would attend classes on certain days per week.
This has not sat well with parents who complain that they still have to pay full school fees despite their children not being at school five days a week.
Parents that spoke to theReporter whose children attend private schools indicated that they seem to be getting into a lot of expenses although their children are not even attending school full time.
A parent of a child attending a local private school ‘Malisebo Molemo said she is concerned that her son only attends classes two times per week but she still pays a full school fees of M3 500. She said on top of that she has to make sure that she finds a tutor for her son to make sure that he catches up in all the subjects.
“It is not just a tutor that I need to pay for but also a nanny for days that he is not at school. Even last year we still paid full school even though they were only studying online and we were doing most of the teaching anyway.
“I do not think it is fair that no one is addressing that there should be changes on school fees now that children are not attending on fulltime. Why is that government is not doing anything about it? We are now experiencing third wave and schools are closed but best believe me the teachers will still want us to pay full school fee amount. I believe that something needs to be done about this,” Molemo said.
Another parent ‘Mamatṧeliso Leine who has two children who attend private schools said they have multiple of times as parents tried to talk to the school management when it comes to paying full school fees. She said her children also go to school two times a week and they do not even stay long at school but they are expected to pay full price.
“They start school at nine o’clock in the morning and at one o’clock in the afternoon they are out. We have to make sure that they have someone to look after them when they get home.
“We understand that this is for their own safety to be going to school on particular days. We also acknowledge the school’s efforts for abiding with the protocols but they should also consider that many of us have lost jobs. I believe this should be reviewed by the government. We know many countries which have reviewed the school fees issue since the way of learning has changed,” she said.
For his part Moloi Moloi said schools and government should associate themselves with changes. He said they need to realise that they now share the responsibility with parents so they should cut on the costs and consider that parents are also teaching at home.
