Defaulting parents could lose homes over outstanding school fees
Some private schools in the province have welcomed a Pietermaritzburg High Court judgement - allowing private schools to attach the homes of parents who owe them money as a means of recovering the debt.
Listen to the full bulletin below.
A case was brought before the court by St. Charles College after a couple that had made a payment arrangement with the school failed to pay the R620 000 it owed for school fees.
The couple's two children attended the school and have finished matric.
The court ruled that the parents chose to send their sons to a private school and are therefore liable for all costs incurred.
The headmaster of Clifton School in Durban, Brian Mitchell feels the judgment was fair.
"Independent schools are run on the basis of fee income and if fees aren't paid, we can't run. The ruling makes [sense]," he said.