adminGovernment has since independence made great strides in ensuring that the majority of children have access to education. Thousands of both primary and secondary schools were built in rural and urban areas so that children are within walking distance of the nearest school. The Government and local authorities continue to build more schools especially in resettlement areas where children walk long distances to schools while in some areas, children are using makeshift buildings such as farmhouses. The Government in a bid to ensure both rural and urban children enjoy their right to education has pegged the fees at Government schools at $10 for primary schools a term and $20 a term for secondary.
Primary schools in rural areas are however, exempt from paying school fees but pay levies set by the School Development Association. We want to believe that in coming up with the levies, SDAs take into account the plight of rural parents, the majority of whom have income once per year after selling their crops. When Government decided to exempt rural primary school pupils from paying fees, it had realised that even the little $10 was difficult to raise for the majority of parents so SDAs should appreciate this reality.
School authorities have of late employed different methods to force parents to pay either outstanding fees or levies. Some schools have engaged the services of debt collectors while others continue to send pupils home for non-payment of fees or levies although this is against Government policy. A school in Gokwe is reported to have come up with a very strange system of recovering money it is owed by parents. The school, Managwa primary school in Gokwe South district is said to have engaged the services of debt collectors who are reportedly demanding livestock as payment for outstanding money.
The debt collectors are demanding chickens, goats and in some cases cattle from defaulting parents. Parents said they were taken by surprise when debt collectors demanded livestock as payment for outstanding levies because they had agreed with the school authorities that they were going to settle their outstanding levies soon after harvesting this season’s crops. A number of parents are reported to have lost their livestock to debt collectors while others have now resorted to violently resisting the debt collectors.
Chief Nemangwe confirmed that debt collectors from the school were indeed demanding livestock from parents. He said he had since ordered the school head to immediately stop the debt collectors from harassing parents. We have already stated that SDAs should not come up with outrageous levies especially for rural schools where the majority of parents have no source of income. We just wonder how much the parents at this Gokwe school are being charged in levies to warrant debt collectors to demand a whole beast.
The Midlands Provincial Education Director, Mrs Agnes Gudo should immediately investigate this school which could be fleecing parents by charging outrageous levies. There is need to ensure that those parents who lost livestock to debt collectors are compensated. We want to once again implore Government to ensure that education remains affordable to the majority of children because it is their right.
Online Reporter