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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. The 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. School authorities have, however, over the years defied government directive that no pupil should be sent home for non-payment of school fees.
Many schools continue to send pupils home and it seems government has over the years been threatening to punish defiant school authorities but no action has been taken. The school authorities have realised that these are just empty threats hence they continue to send pupils home for non-payment of school fees or levies.
Boarding schools that provide buses to ferry pupils from the various centres to the schools at the start of each school term, do not allow pupils who have not paid the fees to board the buses. The government has repeatedly warned school authorities against sending pupils home for non-payment of fees but the authorities remain defiant.
When schools opened this term, pupils at Fletcher High School in Gweru who had not paid fees were detained in the school hall as punishment. The pupils were spending the day in the school hall while other pupils attended classes. This is a common method being used by a number of schools throughout the country to punish children of defaulting parents.
This is an illegal action according to a High Court ruling which states that the contract of paying fees is between the parent and the school authorities and not the child. Education is one of the rights that must be enjoyed by all Zimbabwean children regardless of one’s social status.
Those school authorities that are detaining pupils for non-payment of fees while their counterparts are attending classes are denying these pupils their right to education and are therefore guilty of an offence. How do school authorities intend to compensate these pupils for lost learning time when their parents finally pay the outstanding fees? We want at this juncture to implore the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to ensure that school authorities do not send pupils home for non-payment of fees as this is against government policy.
Those that decide to be defiant should be punished and this time around we need to see action being taken so that in future no pupils are sent home for non-payment of fees. Parents on their part school appreciate the importance of paying fees and levies. Schools authorities need money to run schools and this money comes from fees and levies. The situation is worse for boarding schools that have to provide food to all pupils including those that would not have paid fees.
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. Parents should not allow a situation whereby school authorities are forced to take legal action against them for failing to pay fees as this might prove very costly.
We want to once again call on school authorities to stop punishing the innocent pupils for non-payment of fees while at the same time urging parents to strive to meet their obligation of paying fees.
Online Reporter