Cape Town - A High Court application by a divorced mother has focused attention on the way schools and education authorities interpret and implement regulations relating to school fee exemptions in the case of divorced parents.
Michelle Saffer wants the Western Cape High Court to review and set aside a decision by the head of the Western Cape Education Department, who dismissed her appeal against a decision by Fish Hoek High to refuse her a partial school fee exemption.
She is also asking the court to declare she had been subjected to repeated violations of her constitutional and statutory rights in the course of 2011, 2012 and 2013 applications for exemptions from the payment of fees.
She said the school stated that when applying for an exemption, the gross combined annual income of both parents were taken into account.
Saffer indicated she was not in a position to provide his financial particulars and that it was unreasonable of the school to expect her to do so.
The case continues.