Chronicle Editor
Schools are opening for the first term on Tuesday and as such most pupils attending boarding schools are returning to school on Monday. This week has been hectic for parents and guardians who were buying uniforms and running around to raise money for school fees and levies ahead of the opening of schools.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has since gazetted school fees for both primary and secondary schools. Parents and guardians in rural areas pay less than their counterparts in urban areas.
Primary school pupils in rural areas pay US$5 a term while their counterparts in high density and low density areas pay US$10 and US$20 respectively. In rural areas the fees for secondary school is US$10 a term while those in high density and low density suburbs pay US$20 and US$40 a term respectively.
The fees are pegged in USD but parents and guardians have an option to pay in local currency at prevailing exchange rate.
Many private schools submitted applications for upward review of school fees and some schools were inflating prices of their requirements to justify upward review of their school fees.
It is our hope that the ministry managed to identify all the applicants that were cheating to justify the increases in school fees and took corrective measures.
There is a need to protect parents and guardians from being fleeced by schools charging exorbitant fees. Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary Mr Moses Mhike said last month that it was worrying to note that some schools were inflating prices of their basic requirements to justify fees hikes. He said applications from schools found to be cheating by inflating prices of their basic requirements were being turned down and as we said, we hope all the culprits were caught. Mr Mhike said Government’s position is that schools must remain affordable to the majority of parents and guardians. We have said before that school fees and levies for most schools are already pegged in USD and therefore any reviews to these fees must be very marginal and in many cases there is no justification to increase the fees.
Education is one of the human rights that must be enjoyed by all Zimbabwean children regardless of one’s social status hence the need for Government to ensure fees remain affordable to the majority of parents and guardians. We want to once again remind school authorities that the Government position is that no pupil should be sent home for non-payment of fees.
This position should, however, not be misinterpreted to mean that Government is condoning non-payment of fees by parents or guardians. Parents have an obligation to pay for the education of their children and as such every start of the school term, it is incumbent upon each and every parent to ensure the school fees and levies are paid. Most schools want fees paid on or before the start of each school term. The contract to pay school fees according to a High Court ruling a few years ago, is between the school authorities and the parent.
What this entails is that in the event of the parent failing to meet his or her contractual obligation, the school authorities should take legal action against the defaulting parent. Government position on fees and levies is consistent with the High Court ruling. It is against Government policy to send pupils home or punish them for failing to pay school fees or levies.
Pupils whose parents fail to pay school fees and levies should be allowed to attend classes while school authorities take measures to force defaulting parents to meet their part of the bargain. Parents should therefore strive to ensure that fees are paid on or before the start of each school term to ensure smooth running of the schools. It is parents who demand quality education and school authorities can only provide this quality education if they have adequate resources.
Online Reporter