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An empty school classroom.
Education Activist Hendrick Makaneta believes escalating private school fees are threatening to widen the gap between the rich and the poor in South Africa.
He has expressed concern about the exorbitant fees that some private schools are charging.
This comes ahead of the start of the 2026 academic year.
PODCAST| Private school fees in South Africa soar past R400 000 a year, parents warn education is becoming for the elite only:
Makaneta also says some schools’ fees are more than R400 000 per learner per annum.
He says this raises serious questions about affordability and access to quality education, emphasising that while private schools are entitled to set their own fee structures, recent increases have significantly outpaced inflation.
“Education should be a public good and a cornerstone of social and economic development and once excessive fees are charged, there is a risk of deepening inequality by entrenching a system in which high-quality education becomes accessible only to a small and wealthy segment of society. There is an urgent need to be more transparent regarding how schools charge their fees. South Africa’s future depends on an education system that is accessible. Escalating private school fees threaten to widen the gap between the rich and the poor,” adds Makaneta.
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