Home education and online schooling are no longer fringe options. They are part of the education reality for many families.
Image: Jessica Lewis | Upsplash
South African parents considering home or online schooling are being urged to scrutinise providers and assessment pathways as government prepares new home education regulations and moves to formally recognise and regulate online schools.
Further draft regulations on home education are expected to be published for public comment during the current financial year, while work is also under way to amend the South African Schools Act to recognise and regulate online schools.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube confirmed the regulatory work during the Department of Basic Education's 2026/27 Budget Vote in May.
"Further draft regulations on teacher development, home education and a notice on school governing body elections, amongst others, will be published for comment during this financial year," Gwarube said, adding that "work to amend the South African Schools Act to recognise and regulate online schools is also underway".
Chris Klopper, CEO of the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI), said the regulatory developments had brought renewed attention to home education and online schooling as more families explored alternative education pathways.
"Home education and online schooling are no longer fringe options. They are part of the education reality for many families," he said.
According to the 2011 census, there were about 57,000 home learners in South Africa. SA Homeschoolers estimates that figure has probably grown to about 300,000 by 2025, noting that home education is now the fastest-growing type of education globally.
The shift has roots in the pandemic. Statistics South Africa data shows the percentage of children aged 0–4 years remaining at home with a parent or guardian increased from 57.8% in 2019 to 64.6% in 2021.
Attendance at pre-school, nursery school and educare centres dropped from 36.8% to 28.5% over the same period. For many families, the experience of home-based learning during COVID-19 normalised alternative education arrangements that some have since chosen to maintain.
Demand appears to be rising. An analysis by Teneo School of Google Trends data found that searches for "online school" were up 69% in Gauteng in January and up 87% nationally week-on-week, with 103,000 searches recorded nationally in the past month. Teneo attributed the trend in part to growing pressure for placements in quality schools across Gauteng.
Klopper said regulation could help address confusion facing parents when providers used terms such as "registered," "aligned," "accredited," or "recognised" — terms that did not always make clear whether they applied to the curriculum, provider, assessment body or final examination pathway.
"Parents should not be expected to decode education jargon on their own," he said. "If a provider says it is registered or aligned to a recognised pathway, parents have every right to ask: registered with whom, for what purpose, and what does that mean for my child's assessment and final outcomes?"
SACAI is an Umalusi-accredited private assessment body that administers examinations for Grade 10 to 12 candidates registered through SACAI-registered institutions, many of which operate in home, online or distance-learning contexts. Klopper said its role was not to operate schools but to support the credibility of assessment processes within the pathways it supported.
Parents under pressure to make quick decisions could be vulnerable to misleading claims or poorly structured offerings, he warned.
Klopper said parents should ask what curriculum was being followed, how progress was tracked, who was responsible for School-Based Assessment evidence, how examination readiness was managed and what final assessment pathway the learner would follow.
"A child can have excellent online lessons and still be on a weak pathway if assessment evidence, moderation and examination readiness are not properly managed," he said. "Learning content matters, but so does the system behind the learning — the record-keeping, the standards, the accountability and the quality assurance."
Klopper said parents did not need to wait for the regulations before asking providers more detailed questions, and should verify claims, understand the difference between teaching support and assessment credibility, and establish whether their chosen pathway would ultimately lead to recognised results.
The draft home education regulations have yet to be published for public comment.
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