adminIt is Government policy that no pupil should be sent home for non-payment of fees.
The High Court has also ruled that sending pupils home for non-payment of fees is illegal but school authorities continue to be defiant.
In its ruling, the High Court stated that the contract to pay fees and levies is between the school and the parent or guardian so the child should not be made to suffer for the failure of his or her parent to meet his or her part of the bargain.
When schools opened last Tuesday many schools in Bulawayo sent pupils home for non-payment of fees. At some schools pupils who had not paid the fees were not even allowed to enter the school premises.
The pupils were requested at the school gates to produce receipts as proof of payment before being allowed in.
The situation was reported to be the same in many areas throughout the country.
Government has in the past threatened to punish defiant school authorities but it seems the authorities have discovered that these are just empty threats hence many of them continue to send pupils home.
Education is a right for every Zimbabwean child. This means that both the rich and the poor should equally access education. School authorities that continue to send pupils home for non-payment of school fees are therefore denying these pupils their right to education.
It is a fact that the Zimbabwean economy is not performing well and that many parents are out of employment after their companies closed down or scaled down operations.
Many of these parents are therefore finding it difficult to raise school fees and other levies but they have an obligation to send their children to school.
Government continues to prioritise education and each year the education sector gets the lion’s share of the national budget.
Since independence a lot of ground has been covered in ensuring that there are adequate schools in both the rural and urban areas. The country today boasts of a 92 percent literacy rate because of its sound education policy.
What we have gained over the past 32 years could easily be eroded if we allow a situation whereby education becomes a preserve of the rich.
The Government has gone out of its way to ensure education is affordable by keeping the school fees low with primary schools paying as little as $10 a term and secondary schools paying $20.
The school authorities are however working against this by increasing levies. Many schools are charging levies which are in some cases five times more than the fees. The Government, if need be, should therefore regulate levies.
It is not enough to depend on the so-called minutes of parents meetings because very few parents attend these meetings.
Government has through its development partners addressed the issue of shortage of textbooks at both primary and secondary schools so most schools do not have any pressing issues to justify demanding all the fees and levies before or on the opening day.
We appreciate the fact that school authorities require money to run schools but as we have already stated, parents are struggling to raise the fees and levies and should therefore be given time.
Parents should be allowed to pay the fees and levies in instalments given the economic challenges facing the country.
We do not condone non-payment of fees and levies but what we want to emphasise is that pupils should not be sent home.
How are pupils who are sent home for non-payment of fees going to make up for the lost time when they finally pay the fees?
The High Court has declared sending pupils home illegal so parents whose children are sent home should report school authorities to the police because they are committing a crime.
We want to once again urge the Government to send the message loud and clear that sending pupils home is against its policy by punishing the offenders.
Online Reporter