Latest news with #R163
IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Private school fee dispute: single father challenges private education payment policies
The father said the whole situation took a toll on his daughter Image: File A single father from Monte Vista is raising concerns about how private education institutions allegedly handle financially strained families and the emotional toll this can take on children. Craig Nel explained how his daughter was excluded from her Curro Durbanville school in July, despite his consistent efforts to settle outstanding fees. He hopes sharing his experience will shed light on the situation, especially for parents who are facing similar experiences. Nel explained that he signed an Acknowledgement of Debt in January 2025 to settle R163,503 in arrears while keeping 2025 fees up to date. 'The school then set a hard deadline and later confirmed she would not be allowed back after the July holidays unless the 2024 arrears were fully settled. 'I took out an overdraft to pay the balance before the first day of the new term. My 2025 fees have always been up to date. The 2024 arrears are now settled. The unresolved issue is the lack of clarity on the procedure used to threaten to exclude her,' he said. Nel criticised the school for failing to follow its own policies. 'No formal written termination notice in line with policy. First direct notice was a letter dated 30 June 2025 stating services would end from 1 July unless arrears were paid in full by 30 June… No meaningful time was provided to make other arrangements.' Nel said his daughter has since returned to school and is coping well. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'She has been back at school since the start of the term after the July holidays and is doing well. She has always been doing well in her school work. The issue now is about clarity on the school's termination policy and how it would be applied in future. 'I want to speak about this so that other parents can also know what to do should they end up in such a situation' He is calling for fair and consistent procedures, reinstatement without punitive retrospective conditions, and agree on a realistic repayment plan recognising payments already made. 'I also need written clarity on what would happen if I lost my job or whether they would give the 90 days' notice of termination stated in their policies. At present, I have no certainty, as they do not appear to be applying this or any policy consistently, and I have not been told why it would not apply to me.' While he has considered a government school, Nel said his daughter would prefer to finish in the same environment if stability can be guaranteed. Curro Durbanville has issued a response regarding the matter. 'A learner will not be excluded where the terms of an agreed Acknowledgement of Debt (AOD) are adhered to. However, even where the terms of an AOD are not adhered to, Curro still takes into consideration the wellbeing of the learner as it did in this matter.' According to Curro; 'The parent was an erratic payer who breached the AOD repayment terms.' The school emphasised that the learner was never excluded without written notice and due process followed.
IOL News
17-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
KZN Education Department fails to comply with court order for ECD centre payments
Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in KwaZulu-Natal are struggling with late payments from the provincial department of education. Image: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA) The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Education has failed to comply and honour the court order to pay three Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres their outstanding balance. This was after the Legal Resources Centre, which represents the three ECD centres, obtained a court order from the KZN High Court in Pietermaritzburg compelling the department to pay the three. The court order was obtained on May 26 and the department was given until June 5 to pay the money. The total amount owed to the three centres was R163,859. The LRC said that although the three centres received some payments between May 30 and July 02, 2025, these have been sporadic and incomplete, leaving them unable to plan and budget properly. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ One of the centres, Sakhokwethu, is still owed a significant amount dating back to the 2023/2024 financial year. This ongoing neglect has forced its principal, Bonisiwe Mthembu, to incur personal debt to keep the centre operational, leading her into a financial crisis as she grapples with escalating interest payments. The consequences of this failure are severe for children, staff and the wider community. "Sakhokwethu is in a state of despair and disrepair. Paying my staff is impossible when I have to choose between wages and feeding the children. It feels like the department has abandoned us,' said Mthembu. The centres said the payments received so far have been made without clear information about which months or financial years they cover. This lack of transparency has made it impossible for the centres to meet their obligations to children, staff and families. Nonkonzo Madlala, chairperson of Phumelela Crèche, expressed the impact of these failures in a plea shared by many centres across the province: 'All we are asking is simple: that the Department pays all ECD centres what is due to them, on time, every month. When they delay, all of our children go hungry, our staff go unpaid, and we are forced to choose between keeping the lights on and buying food. These are impossible decisions for ECD centres that care for the most vulnerable. As ECD centres, we are pleading, not for favours, but for the bare minimum the service level agreements promise us, so that we can give our children the safety, nutrition, and learning they deserve.' The provincial education spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi, did not respond to the media query regarding the outstanding payments. In the court documents, the centres argued that the lack of funding is a constitutional issue that infringes on children's rights and the failure to pay has an impact on children as it deprives them of sufficient nutrition, and prejudices their access to safe facilities, as well as limiting the availability of ECD practitioners. LRC said it has been following up repeatedly via email and telephone to secure compliance while considering a contempt of court application. The organisation said these efforts were mostly met with silence, apart from a vague response citing internal accounting processes and offering no clear payment schedule. The organisation added that the few payments made were inadequate, unexplained, and provided no certainty for the centres. 'This lack of transparency has deepened the financial crisis at the centres, which depend on timely monthly subsidies to deliver essential services to young children. As the department remained evasive, conditions at the centres worsened, compounding the hardship faced by children, staff and their families,' said LRC. The LRC believes that the department is not engaging in good faith. It said this behaviour signals a troubling pattern of evasion and disregard for the urgent needs of young children who rely on these essential services. The group added that although the applicants are not pursuing a contempt application at this stage, it is monitoring compliance closely. 'We believe the department's refusal to explain or resolve this issue forces costly, unnecessary litigation, diverting resources that should be supporting children. As the LRC, this is a route we want to avoid at all costs,' the organisation said, adding that the department's consistent failure to deliver subsidies in a timely and transparent manner has left many ECD centres on the brink of collapse.
