Cost pressures, concerns over bullying, and the availability of flexible qualifications are among the biggest reasons driving this shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The financial realities of schooling play a significant role. Private school fees continue to rise sharply, with CambriLearn projecting<\/a> a 6% to 10% increase in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, middle-class incomes have barely grown in real terms, less than 1% over the past seven years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cParents are paying R100,000 or more per child every year, but they still have questions about the quality, the value, and future outcomes it delivers,\u201d said CambriLearn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While cheaper, public schools face systemic challenges, including overcrowded classrooms, under-resourced facilities, and a teacher shortage estimated at more than 30,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, more parents are exploring homeschooling. Data from the Pestalozzi Trust shows<\/a> that Gauteng had 2,844 registered homeschooling parents in 2024, with an additional 2,189 applications filed in the first five months of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Online education providers are also seeing strong demand. UCT Online High School, established in 2022, has already enrolled more than 17,000 pupils in grades 8 to 12, with 4,000 enrolled this year alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, Curro, South Africa\u2019s largest private education provider, saw a decline in enrolments from 73,159 in February 2024 to 72,109 a year later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kieswetter said that a major reason for the growth is that homeschooling has simply become more visible and accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were never in a headspace that homeschooling is an option until 2020, when we were all forced to homeschool during lockdown,\u201d she explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSuddenly, it was on our awareness, and the resources have increased exponentially. There are even free resources available now. It\u2019s a viable option for parents, and that\u2019s why it has increased so amazingly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cParents are realising that they can tailor-make education for their own children. With homeschooling, you can select various subjects and go in depth as long as your child is eager and willing to learn,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concerns about safety and well-being are another driving factor. Kieswetter noted that a lot of parents are upset with bullying incidents at school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnfortunately, sometimes the school is not able to deal with that satisfactorily, and children are placed in stressful, anxious environments.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n A common criticism of homeschooling is that it may isolate children socially. Kieswetter dismissed this, pointing out that homeschooling families actively engage in community activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t learn in a bubble. We interact with friends and coaches and have all those extracurricular activities that public school children have,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe difference is that children can work faster, choose subjects that interest them, and spend more time on areas where they struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She added that homeschooling comes in many forms, from parent-led teaching to online tutoring support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are very many diverse ways to homeschool, and that\u2019s why we can piece together exactly what our child needs to suit them specifically,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Far from being excluded from higher education, homeschooled learners often pursue international qualifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHomeschoolers have found various international methods to achieve matric, not just the South African National Senior Certificate,\u201d said Kieswetter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s the American GED, the Cambridge route, and other international qualifications. Universities have seen that homeschoolers are well prepared and ready for varsity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got real-life experience, and many are entrepreneurs who have already equipped themselves with skills and online courses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sector also operates within a legal framework, maintaining contact with the Department of Education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kieswetter noted that homeschooling is legal in South Africa, which engages with the department and requires submission of assessments after grades three, six, and nine so they can see progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is interaction and communication to make sure we are on par, and often above, educational standards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kieswetter believes homeschooling will expand further. \u201cThis trend will continue to grow in Gauteng, South Africa, and globally because of the changing job market,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" South Africans are increasingly moving away from traditional private and public schools, with alternatives gaining ground. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":835365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[23395,23394],"class_list":["post-835343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-homeschooling","tag-the-gauteng-association-for-homeschooling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835343"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835366,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835343\/revisions\/835366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Homeschooling is regulated and has high standards in South Africa <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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