Philippa Garson
To pay or not to pay? That is the politically loaded question. Whether school fees should be compulsory is being hotly debated in government circles and is holding up the implementation of new education policy for schools. If the government goes for minimum free education for all it risks losing wealthier parents — and the money they contribute — to the private system. If it reneges on this, it risks losing political face with its biggest constituency — the poor. The White Paper now waiting for Cabinet approval stops short of new funding policy for schools. It does, however, allow for school governing bodies to have legal personae. Technically this would allow them to sue non-fee-paying parents, be sued, and own property. The White Paper has been significantly amended from its draft form, circulated in November last year, but makes no committment on the funding issue. Based on the Hunter Committee’s recommendations and Education Minister Sibusiso Bengu’s responses, the draft outlines several funding options. It also allows for the continued existence of state-aided (model C) schools which, with state schools, would fall into the category of public schools. None of these categories make much sense in the absence of funding policy however. Two funding options are being debated, and the final choice will be a hybrid between the two: both options collapse the distinction between state and state-aided schools in the sense that all schools will be public and will receive varying degrees of state aid The first option, which is said to be favoured by Education Minister Sibusiso Bengu, `lays heavy emphasis on equity and redress’, and aims to improve the poorest schools. The aim would be to spend the same amount of money on each pupil so the government could give a minimum level of free education for all. To achieve equity, rural and poor schools would receive more money than better-resourced schools, which would face severe cutbacks. Many state-aided schools would be forced to become full state schools. All schools would be encouraged to raise voluntary funds, but there would be no compulsory school fees and equity would be phased in over five years. The second option of `partnership funding’ — whereby parents who can afford to pay would be legally obliged to do so — assumes that free education for all is not affordable, given the constraints on the education budget. This option would entail enormous administrative interventions and would be politically difficult to
That school governing bodies will have a legal status implies the government is leaning towards a compulsory fee-paying system. However, it would be pointless for schools to have these powers unless they could use them. `The powers that need to be given to the governing body will be influenced by the financing option decided on,’ says Peter Buckland of the National Business Initiative’s Edupol unit.
Meanwhile, in the absence of national legislation, several provinces have gone ahead with their own legislation on school categories and rules for funding: the Gauteng Education Act provides for independent, state and state-aided schools, whereby state-aided schools (model C) determine the fees parents pay, but may not bar those pupils who cannot pay. State schools’ governing bodies may have a school fund and get contributions, but the state funds and manages the operational expenses, according to the Act. Although the campaign against model C schools embarked on by the Congress of South African Students this week was rather limp, it gives a clear indication that privileged education endorsed by the state is unacceptable to a significant section of the African National Congress’s grassroots support base. Responding to criticisms over maintaining the model C system (in all but name), Metcalfe said her department did not want to `radically restructure’ in the middle of a national policy debate. `This is a holding operation dealing with the worst aspects of model Cs in a way that is publicly defensible. When the Hunter report is concluded we’ll make the necessary amendments to our legislation.’ According to the Act, no school (state or state-aided) may practise any discrimination or bar any pupil who cannot pay fees. Northern Province, Northern Cape, the Free State and Mpumalanga have adopted similar
Although model C schools only comprise 7% of the country’s schools, leading many to conclude the debate around them is a `storm in a teacup’, they comprise a significant section of Gauteng’s schools — 30%. The draft legislation provides for all governing bodies to have basic powers and for some to negotiate further powers if they want them and show themselves to be capable of having them. The governing bodies would have teachers, students and parent representatives, with parents likely to make up the majority.