January’s reckoning: the back-to-school financial assault you didn’t budget for

YOU'RE basking in the festive glow, managing your bonus with newfound discipline, perhaps even feeling proud of your spending restraint.

- SANJITH HANNUMAN

But while you're congratulating yourself, the rest of January is quietly sharpening its knives. The back-to-school financial assault is here, and most parents are criminally unprepared.The numbers don’t lie: what’s waiting for you

Private school fees increased by an average of 6.9% for 2025, with some institutions hiking fees by as much as 7.9%. From créche to cap and gown in most private schools — more than double the November 2024 inflation rate of 2.9% (official inflation rate while the actual being experienced by you and | are substantially higher).

The total cost of raising a child through private education now ranges between R2.5 million and R4 million over their full school journey according to Joburg ETC. Even public schooling costs approximately R651.313 from Grade 1 to matric, with annual government high school fees reaching R36.072.

The brutal reality: South African salaries increased by merely 1% over the past seven years, while inflation surged by 40% as reported by Business Tech.

School fees climb faster than your income. The maths is unsustainable.

Transport costs compound this assault. While the government announced an R870 monthly school transport allowance for qualifying low-income families starting January 2025, most middle-class parents receive no relief. Many households spend R1 200 or more monthly per child on transport alone.

The hidden costs nobody warns you about

Parents budget for fees, uniforms and stationery. What they don’t anticipate: textbooks at R300 to R500 each across seven subjects, mandatory tablets for digital learning, sports equipment not on the “official” list, increased taxi fares, and extra lessons because everyone else’s child has a tutor — the “in thing” at the moment.