admin
He said the policy was clear and once established that a head had sent away pupils for non-payment of fees he or she would be charged.
“The policy is clear, no child should be sent away and the school has to sue the parent. There is no question about that and we expect school heads to abide by that and once we establish that anyone has barred pupils from attending lessons that head will be charged,” Mr Moyo said.
The PED said the province would from tomorrow engage headmasters over the issue and emphasise to them the consequences of defying the Government policy.
“Starting from 11 January each of the Bulawayo Districts will hold meetings with heads of schools. The District Education Officers will strictly tell them that if they sent away pupils on opening day, that should be the last time and we will charge them for any other such defiance.
“Khami District will hold its meeting on 11 January, Imbizo on 14 January, Reigate and Bulawayo Central 15 January while Mzilikazi will have its meeting on 16 January,” said Mr Moyo.
The Government policy on education directs that no pupils should be sent home for non-payment of fees and the High Court in 2011 declared such action illegal.
In contravention of the policy, some schools in Bulawayo, Midlands and Masvingo Provinces on Tuesday sent away pupils and yesterday Bulawayo schools continued to defy the directive as scores of pupils were barred from attending lessons.
The situation was not the same countrywide, as Harare schools did not send pupils away.
However, the Deputy Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Dr Lazarus Dokora, in an interview yesterday, said there was nothing wrong with schools sending away pupils because parents had an obligation to pay school fees.
He encouraged parents to pay tuition fees and make payment arrangements with the authorities on the payment of levies.
“Parents should seek audience with school authorities and talk to them when they do not have full complements. We cannot have a parent sending a child to an expensive school or boarding school when they do not have enough money.
“As long as a parent has not paid tuition fees, the child is not a pupil at the school. He or she remains an ordinary child until the time he or she pays tuition fees in full to become a pupil. In that case we will be talking about a child and not a pupil,” said Dr Dokora.
“We thought schools were abiding by the policy because in Harare they did not send pupils away.
Generally we think that parents are organised and plan ahead before schools open since they know the schools’ calendar. Our feeling is that schools have taken heed of the policy and court directive and parents can engage them and make payment arrangements for levies as long as they have paid tuition fees.”
Some schools yesterday barred pupils from attending lessons and told them not to return to school until they paid fees in full. Headmasters warned pupils that they would be scrapped from the register if they missed school for eight days.
Justice Maphios Cheda with Justice Nicholas Ndou agreeing declared in 2011 that sending pupils home for non-payment of fees was illegal and an abuse of authority.
The judgment reads in part: “When a parent or guardian secures a place for a child at a school or tertiary institution, a contract is entered into between the said institution and the parent with regards to payment of fees.
“The said contract can either be expressed or implied. The parent undertakes to pay all the fees, which the institution levies on the student from time to time. Failure by the parent to do so results in the institution of legal proceedings against the parent to recover the said fees. No valid steps or proceedings can be taken against a minor who has no contract with the institution to pay fees. To do so is abuse of authority on the part of the institution.”
Online Reporter