POLOKWANE – Choosing a school for your child may be an easy decision but it can turn into a nightmare for some people.

Polokwane is spoilt for choice as there are a variety of schools in the city that parents can choose to enroll their child.

But when it comes to choosing whether you want your child to go to a public or private school or even be home-schooled, it’s important to know the pros and cons.

According to Zabursaries.co.za the main difference between a private school and a public school is how it is funded.

Public schools are funded by the government, while private schools are funded by a private institution or group of people and are therefore in charge of thier own finances.

This means public school fees are a lot cheaper than those of private institutions and more scholarships and bursaries are offered at public schools.

Classes at a public schools are usually bigger than those of a private institution and a private school could offer qualifications specific to a certain field of study.

An alternative option is home schooling or home school centres.

With home schooling, your child is alone or only with his or her sibling and parents would need to make alternative plans for their children to socialise with other children of their age as well as sport activities.

The times of classes can vary and therefore there are no rushed mornings or late classes. Families can even go on holiday whenever they want.

You also do not have to travel to school and back later to fetch your child.

Home schooling can be a special way for a child and parent to connect and form a bond, but at the same time it can cause fights if the two do not get along very well.

Home schooling can be expensive, as you might need to stop working in order to help your child and while parents are not necessarily teachers, they might struggle with helping their children.

Home school centre children will have the opportunity to socialise and work in groups and this allows for most of the parents to keep on working knowing their child get one-on-one tutoring.

At the end of the day, parents should decide on what is best for their child as they will know what environment will suit their personality.