Cape Town — The Department of Basic Education is urging schools to avoid withholding students’ report cards because of unpaid school fees.
This comes in response to an incident at Glenvista High School in Johannesburg, where the report of a Grade 11 learner was declined for release, SABC News reported.
According to department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga, such actions are in violation of the law.
“As a parent, you also have a responsibility to communicate with the school if you’re experiencing any challenges. So, you find that schools resort to these extreme measures to try and get the attention of parents who are not communicating,” the report quoted Mhlanga as saying.
He added: “There are parents who don’t communicate with the school for the rest of the year. They don’t even attend meetings, but in this case, it is still illegal what they have done.”
This follows a similar incident at a school in Nelson Mandela Bay where the Eastern Cape education department has slammed a Nelson Mandela Bay school for reportedly withholding report cards over unpaid fees, Herald LIVE reported.
This follows complaints from some parents regarding David Livingstone Senior Secondary School’s alleged refusal to release their children’s reports due to outstanding school fees.
[ON AIR] The Department of Basic Education is shock that the Glen Vista High School in Johannesburg withheld a report card of a student due to outstanding fees. @ElijahMhlanga: Spokesperson, @DBE_SA on #SAfmSunrise with @StephenGrootes #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/zQQ6TU8rfL
— SAfmRadio 📻 (@SAfmRadio) December 14, 2023
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
