Buckle up, parents: School fee hikes outpace inflation

As school fees rise significantly in 2025, many parents face increased financial strain. Fee-paying schools are grappling with higher costs, including the growing cost of exemptions. 

Fee-paying schools could grant exemptions of between R7.4 billion and R10.8 billion to parents in 2025, according to the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas). 

Riaan van der Bergh, deputy chief executive of Fedsas, notes that over the past three years, schools have reported a sharp increase in the number of exemption applications and the total exemptions granted.  

“This has a detrimental effect on the funding model of schools and result[s] in higher fees for those parents who pay,” he says. 

“It puts financial pressure on schools and sustainability of fee-paying schools.”

To estimate the cost of exemptions this year, Fedsas analysed the annual financial statements of a sample of schools – calculating the percentage of total income that is exempted, and extrapolating these figures to the broader population of fee-paying schools.

Van der Bergh notes that the exemption regulation is intended to support families unable to pay. However, “the current formula allows for [the] exemption of more affluent people in a school with high school fees. This needs to be addressed urgently.”

According to research by the Old Mutual Group, public primary school fees are around R24 408 a year, while private primary schools cost around R71 496. A government high school costs approximately R36 072 per year, and a private high school around R105 084.

Annual fee increases continue to add to the financial strain, with education costs rising by 6.3% in 2024 compared to 2023. This marks the highest increase since 2020, when the rate was 6.4%, according to Statistics South Africa.

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Exemption rules

Fee exemptions are an option for parents who face difficulty, and are available at fee-paying schools (quintiles 4 and 5).

Quintiles 1, 2, and 3 are declared no-fee schools and are allocated a higher state subsidy.

The South African Schools Act and the Regulations on the Exemption of Parents from School Fees outline a process through which parents can apply for exemption from paying school fees. Based on the parent’s income or circumstance, such as the child being a social grant beneficiary, the parent or guardian may be granted an automatic, full, partial, or conditional exemption.

Simply, if the school fees are greater than 10% of the parents’ income, the parents qualify for a full exemption from the payment of school fees.

If the school fees are less than 10% of the income, the parents qualify for a partial exemption on a graded scale. 

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Fee increases

A News24 survey found that some quintile 4 and 5 schools increased their fees for 2025 by as much as 7.9%, outpacing inflation, which came in at 2.9% in November 2024.

“The reasons for the higher-than-inflation increases need to be investigated and disclosed at the annual general meeting where budgets are approved in order for parents to make informed decision[s],” says Van der Bergh.

Curro chief executive Cobus Loubser says school fee increases are evaluated individually for each school and grade. Several factors are taken into account, including the current fee structure, enrolment demand and capacity, the stage and complexity of the curriculum, the skills required, and the amenities and resources provided by the school.

“This meticulous approach ensures that any adjustments in fees are reflective of the specific needs and circumstances of each grade level within the school and its market. Average revenue per learner is also affected by the mix of learner numbers on a per-school per-grade basis, as there are different school fees applicable to different grades,” says Loubser. 

Curro anticipates an average fee increase calculated across all learners of approximately 5.5% in 2025.

On exemptions, Loubser remains mum but says Curro offers broad access to high-quality, independent education through various models at different price points.

“The group deploys judicious discount strategies to enrol and retain learners. Curro grants merit bursaries to learners for excellence in academic work, sport and culture. Larger families benefit from sibling discounts whilst corporate employee school fee discount schemes are also popular. Short-term financial assistance is [also] available, taking into consideration various factors.”

According to the education department, independent schools are free to charge whatever school fees they wish. They are not mandated to provide fee waivers and may refuse to admit learners whose parents are unable to pay school fees. They may also refuse to admit learners whose parents failed to pay tuition fees in the past. 

ALSO READ: School fees exemption: Do you qualify…and how to apply

ADvTech 

ADvTech, which has schools such as Crawford Schools and Abbotts College, says its increases for this year vary by school year and brand but average between 5% and 6%.

“Acknowledging the challenging economic environment and the impact on consumers, the Group was guided by both the CPI [Consumer Price Index] and the EPI [Education Price Index] when setting our fee increases for 2025,” according to Geoff Whyte, chief executive of ADvTech. 

“We try to keep our fees as low as possible,” he adds. “We do all we can to support parents who experience financial challenges and invite them to discuss options with their school principals when problems arise.”

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.