LINMEYER – Parents of a former A Plus Tuition learner in Alberton say they received poor performance results from the school, which charged them over R60 000 in school fees for a top class education for their son.
The couple, who is based in Linmeyer, explain that they placed their son at that particular school as it follows the Cambridge system and hoped their child would get all the assistance and special attention he needs, resulting in a good progress report at the end of each school term.
“His first results were not good so we threatened to take him out of the school. We were assured that he was coping and doing well; off course she (A Plus Tuition Principal Melanie Ferreira) would say that because we paid in full for the year. We let that slide as the school promised results,” explained the father, Don Hooper.
Mr Hooper reveals that in 2013 he and his wife paid a R35 000 once-off payment for the whole year’s school fees for a one year Foundation Level course. “He (their son) passed some subjects and was allowed to drop the subjects that he failed.”
Beginning of the 2014 school year, the Hooper’s say they again paid R37 000 school fees as they had decided to give the school another chance, claiming that they were led to believe that the child was doing well, although the parents would receive the final results for the year 2013 that were released in January 2014.
“School started in January and the results for the previous year were only out on the 25th. To our shock he had failed and only passed one subject. Children talk to each other and the word was out that only one learner had passed and he is 24 years old. We then decided to put him in another school so that we do not waste any more time at this school .We did not want to get to the end of this year repeating last year’s regrets,” Mr Hooper explained.
They would not have paid the school fees in full in for the year 2014 had they known that their son had performed poorly in 2013, thereafter provided the school with a written notice as per the school’s request cancelling their contract. What Mr Hooper had not anticipated, was that the school would charge them a 40 per cent cancellation fee.
A response from the Gauteng Department of Education Spokesperson, Phumla Sekhonyane, providing information on exactly how much jurisdiction they have over independent schools, was unavailable upon going to print. Follow-up information will be posted with a full response from the department.
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Response from A Plus Tuition Principal, Michelle Ferreira: “A Plus Tuition has been tutoring students for over nine years. We offer extra lessons, home schooling assistance, distance education and educational products. One-on-one lessons are offered at the student’s home or at one of our centres. Due to the increased demand, A Plus Tuition started offering full time tutoring to high school students, where an environment that supports learning is provided.
“We make use of a program for students completing their high school career using the Cambridge curriculum. A Plus Tuition does not promise parents or guardians good results, as this is impossible and various factors play a role. Every student is different and from a different background etc. We will tutor the student to the best of our ability by offering academic support. However it remains the parent or guardian’s duty to play an active role in the teaching of the student and the student obviously also needs to do his or her part to ensure good results. It is thus our obligation to tutor a student to the best of our ability, but we cannot guarantee that a student will do well or pass his or her exams.
“We have students that achieve distinctions; other students that come to us with very poor marks, often these are students with learning problems and they often see an increase in their marks. Although these students with difficulties don’t become academic geniuses, they often do improve if they follow our guidelines and make an effort. Unfortunately we also get students that do not follow our guidelines and regulations and these are the ones that don’t do so well.
“If a student does not perform as expected, A Plus Tuition will assess the specific case and advise the parent/guardian and student to postpone his or her exams. If a student is struggling with his or her work load, our tutors have availed themselves for free sessions, after class and during holidays to assist students. If a student is absent from class it is the student’s responsibility to request his/her tutor to assist him / her to catch up on the work which he/she missed as a result of absenteeism. We also offer revision programs at the end of each year to ensure all work are revised.
“A Plus Tuition charges in respect of full time students are calculated in accordance with the underneath table. A deposit is payable in the amount of R10 000.00 upon registration, which amount is offset against the annual fees. The fee is then divided in ten instalments, payable January to October of each year.
“In the event that a parent/guardian makes an upfront payment at the beginning of the year (January) we offer a 5 per cent discount.
“A Plus Tuition can accommodate only a certain amount of students per annum and we enter into fixed-term contracts with the parents / guardians for a period of one year. If a parent/guardian cancels this contract prior to the expiry date, we are left with a space that we cannot fill throughout the year and therefore we charge a reasonable penalty fee for the early cancellation in the amount of 40 per cent of the value for the remainder of the fixed-term agreement or three months fees.
“Our contracts were drafted in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, where it is stipulated that a reasonable cancellation fee may be charged. No amount or percentage is specified and therefore the amount charged should be reasonable. The 40 per cent which we charge are very reasonable, seeing that we actually lose 60 per cent of the fees we would have been entitled to if the student remained a student with us. And as explained, we cannot enrol another student in the place of the student who cancelled.
“The pass rate, according to the number of exams written in 2012, we had a pass rate of 85 per cent and six distinctions. The pass rate, according to exams written in 2013, we had a pass rate of 67 per cent and three distinctions.”
