By Candes Keating
Education Minister Naledi Pandor's decision to send her children to private schools is a "private matter", according to her spokesperson Tommy Makhode.
Pandor has recently come under fire from Democratic Alliance MP Helen Zille for sending her two children to private schools.
Speaking in parliament this week, Zille said: "It is the height of hypocrisy that the presiding minister has removed her own children from her department's grasp to the safe haven of the most elite private schools in the country.
"Most South Africans do not have this choice and depend on quality in the public system."
Pandor has one child attending Herschel and the other at the Diocesan College (Bishops) in Cape Town.
In response to Zille's remarks, Makhode said: "It's a private matter."
He added that Pandor was committed to providing quality education in public schools and that she had faith in public schools.
Zille said Pandor's decision to school her children privately was because she applied policies that undermined education.
"She is quite happy to subject others to her policy but not her own children," added Zille, who opted for public schooling for her children.