Our Legal Status &
Home-Schooling Law in SA

Edu Cor Learning Centre is a registered non-school education tutor centre operating in South Africa. We are NOT a school, and we do not replace the school or home-education institution that registers your child.

We are an academic support and tutoring service that works alongside your chosen home-education syllabus provider. Our role is to supplement, support, and enhance your child's learning journey — not to issue qualifications or act as the primary registered education provider.

As a tutor centre we are not required to register with the Department of Basic Education as a school, but we operate ethically, professionally and in full compliance with South African home-education law.

Edu Cor works with learners enrolled under any recognised home-education syllabus provider, including but not limited to:

• Impaq Education — a fully accredited curriculum provider offering CAPS-aligned content from Grades 1–12.
• Exceed College — a registered private college offering distance learning qualifications and matric equivalency.
• Brainline — South Africa's leading online homeschool, fully registered with the Department of Basic Education.
• Oxford Home Schooling — offering structured, internationally benchmarked courses.
• Any other CAPS-aligned or DoE-approved home-education provider that a parent has independently selected.

Edu Cor tutors are familiar with the structure and requirements of all major providers and can adapt our support sessions to match your child's specific curriculum.

Home education in South Africa is governed primarily by the South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996 (SASA), specifically Section 51, as well as the Regulations Relating to Home Education (Government Notice No. R. 1449, published in 2018, amended thereafter).

Under these laws, home education is a fully legal and recognised alternative to schooling in South Africa, subject to specific requirements being met by the parent or guardian.

South African law places the primary legal responsibility for a home-educated child's education squarely on the parent or guardian. Key responsibilities include:

• Registration: The parent MUST register the child for home education with the relevant Provincial Department of Education (PDE). Failure to do so may constitute an offence under SASA.
• Curriculum: The parent must ensure the home-education programme covers the same learning areas as the mainstream CAPS curriculum unless the PDE grants a specific exemption.
• Assessment: The parent is responsible for ensuring the learner is assessed according to the approved curriculum provider's standards.
• Record-keeping: The parent must maintain detailed records of the learner's work, attendance, and progress, which may be inspected by a departmental official.
• Notification of changes: If a child moves, changes providers, or ceases home education, the parent must notify the PDE.
• Compulsory school age: Attendance at a school or approved home-education programme is compulsory for all children from Grade 1 (age 7) to age 15 or Grade 9, whichever comes first.

Where the parent fails to comply with these requirements, the Provincial Department of Education may withdraw the home-education approval and require the child to be enrolled at a registered school.

Edu Cor operates as a supplementary tutoring resource. Our services do NOT substitute for the parent's legal obligations outlined above. When a learner attends Edu Cor sessions:

• The parent remains the legally recognised home educator.
• The registered syllabus provider (Impaq, Exceed, etc.) remains the curriculum authority.
• Edu Cor tutors provide academic support, assessment coaching, and progress monitoring.
• All assessments administered by Edu Cor are supplementary and do not replace the official assessments required by the learner's registered provider.

We strongly advise all families to ensure their child is correctly registered with their Provincial Department of Education before commencing any home-education programme, including engagement with Edu Cor.