ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND SCHOOL FEES FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN CENTRAL JOHANNESBURG
Date
2014-02-19
Authors
Sepuru, Thabo Dominic
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Abstract
Education is regarded universally as a fundamental human right and is recognized officially by many countries including South Africa. South Africa is signatory to a number of United Nations (UN) Conventions relating to refugees and acquired certain obligations towards refugees such as the provision of basic education. For the children of refugees and asylum seekers, education has a developmental as well as an integrative and rehabilitative value. While there is recognition of education as a fundamental human right, the realization of this right is impeded by a number of obstacles.
School fees have been cited as one of the barriers. In respect of the charging of fees by schools, South Africa seeks to ensure the realization of education as a fundamental and constitutional right by everyone regardless of their nationality, race, gender, religion and financial status through the mechanisms of fee exemptions and no-fee-school policies. This study attempts to explore and document the obstacles encountered by refugee and asylum seeker parents living in South Africa from accessing fee exemptions at a fee-paying school.
Through a qualitative exploratory research study, the findings show that there are various barriers to accessing fee exemptions by refugee and asylum seeker parents whose children are enrolled at fee-paying schools. No-fee schools on the other hand are inaccessible to due amongst other issues the fear of xenophobia in the townships. As a result, some refugee/asylum seeker parents keep their children out of school. The findings show the negative impact of the fee exemption policy on fee-paying schools with large numbers of poor learners through the measures adopted to push parents into paying for school fees.
Description
MM (P&DM) thesis
Keywords
Education, Refugees, Migrants