With the new school year starting, all parents should keep in mind that by law, all children of compulsory school age (five to 15), must receive a suitable full-time education. As a parent, you have a legal responsibility to make sure that this happens.
Once your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend regularly. If your child fails to do so, you as a parent risk being prosecuted.
The South African Schools Act, 1996, provides that every parent of every child for whom they are responsible must ensure that the child is registered at a school, attends the school and stays in school until the age of 15 years or the ninth grade, whichever occurs first. Should you as a parent fail to comply with this law, you could face a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.
Looking at the school leaving compulsory age in other countries, it varied between 15 years – 17 years in Australia, 16 years to 18 years in United States and Canada, but in Germany it was 18 years of age and they all had a literacy rate of 99% (2003). South Africa has a literacy rate of 86.4% (2003), showing that staying in school an extra year or two makes a difference.
A telling statistic however is that 99% of children complete primary school education but only 57.2% enrol in high schools in South Africa.
Obviously something more than legislation is needed.
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