Education is – or should be – a top priority for all parents. Putting your kids through school is an important part of the family’s financial planning.
Recent Statistics SA data has found that almost two in every 10 potential learners are unable to attend school or a tertiary institution in this country due to a lack of funds.
This is extremely worrying and suggests that many parents are not planning sufficiently for the costs of education.
Further research by Discovery released at the end of 2017 revealed that it could cost as much as R2.2m to send one child to a private school from crèche up to the end of tertiary education. This is not achievable for the average South African, who would need to start saving years before their children are even born.
The average annual tuition fees across public and private primary schools currently sit at between R20 000 and R100 000 respectively, while tuition fees at the better public and private high schools in South Africa can exceed R40 000 and go up to R250 000 a year respectively.
Education inflation is outpacing salary growth. The Discovery group reports that, in South Africa, education inflation has outpaced headline Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) by between 2% and 4% a year. Between 2010 and 2015 alone, the cost of education rose by around 50% and is expected to continue to increase by about 9% per year. This means that within five years, you could be facing school fees of around R50 000 per annum – for a public school.
Below are the expected costs for one year of education at public and private high schools, and universities over the next 5 years.
| Expected cost of one year of education | 2018 | 2023 | ||
| Public Primary or High School | R34 613 | R53 256 | ||
| Private Primary School | R84 742 | R130 386 | ||
| Private High School | R136 065 | R209 352 |
There are certain schools that have been declared ‘no fee schools’ to assist qualifying parents with dire financial constraints to access education for their children. The names of these schools are published in a Provincial Gazette and the criteria is based on the economic level of the community around the school.
The cost of education is one of many reasons that many parents choose to homeschool their children. Our fees range from as little as R6300 for Grade R up to R12 800 for Grade 10 per annum for all the workbooks, textbooks and guides that you will need to give your children a quality and personalized education. Included in these fees is the mid- and year- end assessments that are returned to us for marking by our team of qualified teachers who will also provide you with a report at year end. The only additional cost that you may require and not included in our fee is additional tutoring, the cost of which will vary depending on your individual requirements and budget.
Many will agree, a homeschooling education can be better than the best private school education available, and it comes at a fraction of the cost.