adminHe said cabinet directed that the schools should stick to last term’s tuition fees and warned school authorities against defying this directive. Senator Coltart said Government would deal with school authorities that increase tuition fees for this term.
He, however, confirmed that his ministry had earlier on given the green light to schools to increase tuition fees but this was shot down by cabinet which directed that there would be no fees adjustment this term and schools should go by the cabinet decision which was the position of Government on fees. It is unfortunate that the Ministry of Education had approved tuition fees increases following applications by schools without seeking cabinet approval hence the confusion the ministry finds itself in.
The ministry, by approving the increases in fees, had obviously not taken into account the reality on the ground.
The situation obtaining on the ground is that most parents are failing to raise the present levels of tuition and levies. Many of the children could not sit for Ordinary and Advanced level examinations because parents could not raise the examination fees.
It is not a secret that the majority of parents are out of employment and the few that are still employed are not being paid salaries regularly. It is also pertinent to note that among the parents are communal and resettlement farmers whose income is derived from farming and only comes once a year in the majority of cases. The country has witnessed poor harvests for the past few years and the farmers are therefore among those parents that are failing to raise money to pay fees and levies. We, therefore, find it mind boggling that given all these factors, the Ministry of Education had gone ahead to approve fees increases on the basis that the move was meant to address deteriorating standards at schools.
What the ministry seems not to appreciate is that the fees, had they been allowed to stand, were not going to be affordable to the majority of parents thereby denying many children access to education which is against Government policy. The song that “no pupils should be sent home for non-payment of fees or levies” has not helped the situation because school authorities have come up with devious methods of denying defaulting pupils access to education.
Boarding schools, for example, will not admit to hostels pupils that have not paid boarding fees and pupils that fail to pay tuition fees are put in a class of their own and no lessons are conducted until they pay the fees. We want to commend cabinet for taking into account the plight of parents by shooting down the Ministry of Education’s insensitive move to approve fees increases.
In the past school authorities have defied Government directives and we want this time to implore Government to descend heavily on defiant authorities. Those that choose to be defiant should be punished severely so that they always serve as a reminder that Government directives should be taken seriously.
Senator Coltart should send a circular to all his offices at different levels and the schools to reach them no later than next Tuesday spelling out the Government position on fees.
Online Reporter