School choice, school costs: the case of inner city Johannesburg private schools
Abstract
This study explores school choice and school commuting within the City of
Johannesburg, with specific reference to enrolment in low cost inner city private high
schools. The study found that the majority of learners enrolled in these schools were
black and hailed from upper working class or lower middle class homes. Although
most commuted to school, the schools also serve a resident inner city community.
That is, private school enrolment is partly due to the changing land use patterns of
the Johannesburg inner city, from residential to commercial. While much of the inner
city has been transformed into housing, there has been no provision of essential social
infrastructure such as public schools, leaving residents with little choice but to enrol
in a private school, despite their low incomes. Learners from peripheral areas such as
Soweto and Alexandria embark on a financially and socially costly school commute in
order to access what they perceive to be quality education. That is, parents perceive
these schools to be good academic performers, to be ‘disciplined’ and to offer quality
teaching. These parents are shunning the no-fee, public township schools, deeming
them dysfunctional and poorly resourced. It does appear that access to quality
education in South Africa is becoming linked to ability to pay school fees – not only for
the wealthy but also for those of lower socio-economic status.
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