Failure to terminate my daughter school account

This is Mr. Lebaka Tsotetsi. In January 2025, after my daughter was not placed by the Department of Education in a nearby school, I registered her online at Sparks Randburg to start Grade 8.

My daughter’s name is Paballo Tsotetsi (School Ref: TSO7762; Date of Birth: 28 September 2011). All registration processes were completed online. I paid the registration fee, the first month’s school fees, and purchased her uniform. She only attended school for one week. Thereafter, she was required to choose an African language as her first language. She had never studied any African language before, as she had been taught English as a first language from Grade 1 and Afrikaans as a second language.

We visited the school to request that she continue with English as her first language and explained her educational background. However, the school informed us that it is their policy for learners to take an African language as a first language. We also explained that she did not understand isiZulu, while her classmates were already proficient in the language, having studied it since Grade 1.

As a result, we had no choice but to discontinue her studies at Sparks Randburg. We returned to the school to request assistance in selling her nearly new uniform to another learner. The teacher advised us to contact parents through the class WhatsApp group, which had been created by the school, and informed us that all other matters would be handled by the school. The school also sincerely apologised for not being able to assist us with the language issue.

In February 2025, my daughter began homeschooling for the remainder of the year. However, in June 2025, we unexpectedly received a progress report from Sparks, along with a request for payment for a calculator that was allegedly issued to her in March 2025. This was surprising, as she had stopped attending at the end of January, and the school had been informed.

I contacted the school, and the person I spoke to confirmed that they would forward the matter to the accounts department to correct the error, as they were aware that she was no longer attending.

In September 2025, I received an account statement from Sparks reflecting an outstanding balance of R39,711.61, sent by Boitumelo. I sent several emails explaining the situation, and she informed me that a ticket had been opened regarding the matter. I did not receive any feedback until last week, when I was again notified that I owe R39 711.61 on my daughter’s school account.

I kindly request your assistance in resolving this matter, as my daughter has not attended the school since January 2025. School Contact Details: Telephone: 010 125 0603 Email: accounts@sparkschools.co.za My Contact Number: 078 423 1676