Forex only school fees illegal

Government has said it is illegal for schools to demand fees exclusively in forex as the Zimbabwe dollar remains legal tender in all transactions in the country.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said parents should be allowed to pay fees in local currency calculated against the prevailing bank rate.

“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has noted with concern the demand for school fees and levies in USD by school authorities. For this reason, all public and private schools must accept all forms of currency payment obtaining in the country for school fees and levies. Therefore, the demand to receive payment exclusively in USD is not permissible and is contrary to the laws of the land. For the record, the Zimbabwe dollar is still the legal tender in the country,” the ministry said.

“As a matter of fact, no school; public or private should charge fees without the approval of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.”

The statement said the Education Ministry remains committed to the education of all pupils at institutions that provide primary and secondary education.

Last week, Deputy Education Minister Edgar Moyo told the National Assembly that school heads who violate the law will face disciplinary action.

“Schools are not allowed to send away students. The contract for school fee payment is between the school and the parents and not the students.

Where schools are sending away children who have not paid fees, there are penalties. The penalty is a charge that is attracted by that action. As I speak, yesterday we got information that some schools here in Harare sent away children who had not paid fees and this morning our officers were in those schools where we expect charges to be preferred against the culprits,” he said.

The Deputy Minister said teams were deployed to investigate the malpractice by school heads.