Astounding figures on the soaring cost of education show that private school tuition fees and tertiary education fees are rocketing.
Research by the Sage Education Trust shows that parents who are now spending R3 000 a month for the private education of two children will need to budget R12 136 a month for two children at school in 2008.
Rick Maynard, assistant general manager of the trust, says another projection puts the rise in the cost of education at 19 percent a year high above the inflation rate.
He warns parents that it does not make good sense to pay for their children's education out of current income, as this means they are funding out of after-tax income or through debt.
Instead, he says, parents should go for a product along the lines of the education plan offered by the Sage Education Trust, where there is a strong unit trust component.
The product can also include life assurance policies to ensure that funds are available for education, should a breadwinner die. And, it can have a trust fund component to ensure that the proceeds cannot be used for anything other than the child's education.