The Black Sash urges needy parents of children born on or after 1 October 1994 to apply for a Child Support Grant before the school year gets underway in earnest.
The Black Sash urges needy parents of children born on or after 1 October 1994 to apply for a Child Support Grant before the school year gets underway in earnest.
Until new regulations came into effect on 1 January 2010, teenagers lost the grant when they turned 15. The monthly grant of R240 is given to those who earn less than R2 400 a month as a single parent or R4 800 a month as a married couple.
Parents and primary caregivers who receive the grant are automatically exempt from paying school fees.
Black Sash Advocacy Programme Manager Phelisa Nkomo says, “We are delighted with the phased extension of the grant to 18 years as it means that children born at the dawn of our democracy in 1994 will continue to receive the social protection they were promised in the Constitution.”
But Nkomo warns that some vulnerable youngsters who are now eligible may have fallen off the South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) computer system when they turned 15 last year. “We call on parents of these children to reapply as soon as possible,” she said.
You do not need to have an ID book or birth certificate for the child in order to apply for the grant, as long as you can provide an affidavit by a reputable person (such as a school principal) who knows you. Children who are heading households can also apply for the grant if they are over 16 yaers old and are looking after
younger siblings.
Under the new regulations applicants also should provide their most recent school report. Nkomo says the Black Sash is concerned that there may be new applicants who are in need of the grant but whose children are not attending school.
“These children have the right to apply for the grant and to claim the assistance of a social worker.”
The Black Sash would also like to remind parents at this time that if their school has been officially declared a no fee school, they don’t have to pay any school fees, including activity or extra mural fees.
While all other government schools are fee-charging schools, parents are not legally obliged to pay fees if they don’t earn enough money.
You can apply for school fee exemptions if your family is in need, but the state does not reimburse the school for this lost income. Also, you can’t be charged a registration fee, administration fee or be asked to pay fees up front at any government school.
The Black Sash appeals to anyone who is having difficulty in applying for the Child Support Grant or school fee exemptions to please contact our national helpline on 072 66 33 739 or email help@blacksash.org.za for free paralegal advice and support.
