In a “progressive judgment” the Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered that school governing bodies at public schools must grant conditional fee exemptions to single parents who do not give the particulars of the income of the other parent.
The precedent-setting judgment follows a five-year legal battle involving single mother, Michelle Saffer, who thrice applied for a fee exemption at Fish Hoek High School, but was refused as the school requested financial statements from her ex-husband as well.
The Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) acted on behalf of Saffer, and lawyer Chandre Stuurman said yesterday Saffer had custody over the child and a difficult history with her former spouse. Despite appeals to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), Saffer’s exemption applications were rejected.
“Because of this, she regarded it as unreasonable, humiliating and discriminatory for the school to expect her exemption application to be conditional upon her securing his co-operation.
“The court has made it clear that in circumstances where one parent has refused or failed to provide their income details, public schools shall grant a conditional fee exemption to the custodial parent, having regard only to her or his income.
“This conditional fee exemption shall be the total or partial fee exemption to which the applicant would have been entitled to if he or she were the only parent of the learner concerned.
“The granting of such a conditional exemption will not limit the public school from taking legal steps to enforce payment by the other parent of the learner for the balance of the school fees.
“This ensures that non-custodial parents are held responsible where required,” Stuurman said.
The Women’s Legal Centre entered the case as a friend of the court, highlighting the impact of the current fee exemption scheme on women in similar situations to Saffer, and how it discriminates against them.
The court also found, among others, that in processing and dealing with Saffer’s fee exemption application the school and its governing body subjected her to repeated violations of her constitutional and statutory rights.
“The EELC welcomes the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal as a progressive step towards recognising the difficulties faced by custodial parents seeking fee exemptions at public schools.
“The judgment provides welcomed clarity for single, custodial parents with disproportionate burdens of care seeking fee exemptions.
“The EELC looks forward to the Western Cape Education Department taking all necessary steps to ensure the effective implementation of the order by public schools,” Stuurman said.
Provincial Education Department spokesperson Millicent Merton said they noted the judgment and will consider its implications.