The ManicaPost
AS the school term takes off, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has reiterated that it is illegal to send any student away due to non-payment of school fees.
In addition, Government has also made it clear that there are processes that are supposed to be followed in increasing school fees, and that it is illegal for schools to hike fees willy-nilly.
Schools opened a fortnight ago with examination classes resuming lessons first before the rest of the classes followed suit early this week.
Parents have been in a rush to pay what is due for their children’s education.
Many are grappling with the task of meeting the educational costs but some learning institutions, including boarding schools, have responded by locking students who would have not yet cleared their fees arrears out of the premises.
Government, on the other hand, has been unwavering on its position as the overall protector of the school children’s rights.
This stance will cushion the students and their parents or guardians as they already have stretched budgets, especially considering that some economic sectors were closed of late as the nation battled Covid-19.
Traditionally, some schools hike fees every term.
One wonders what motivates the hikes, especially considering that inflation has maintained a downward trend for the past year following the introduction of a foreign exchange auction trading system which brought stability to the forex market.
According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,annual inflation will end the year below 10 percent, on the back of sustained economic stability.
What then is the justification for the proposed school fees increases?
It seems that most of these schools are simply bent on robbing the unsuspecting parents.
School heads simply come up with proposals to increase fees to accommodate certain “projects”.
Due to this money milking attitude, education in Zimbabwe is now very expensive, especially at mission and private schools. Most mission and boarding schools charge an average of $25 000 per term, with school uniforms also being used to bleed the parents dry.
If these figures are allowed to swell uncontrolled, what figures will the nation be talking about, say 10 years from now? Education will become a privilege for the elite.
Schools have become big businesses for the private players.
A look at the big cars that some of the school heads and support staff drive is enough testimony.
Obviously, this flamboyance is funded by the parents through their hard-earned cash and does not add value to the education system.
One wonders if some schools are using school fees and tuition as a tool for segregation. All education providers, both private and public, should bear in mind that education must be affordable for all.
After all, it is every child’s constitutional right to access education.
Zimbabwe’s literacy rate stands at over 90 percent, a far cry from all the other African countries and all measures that are put in place must strive to preserve or improve the status quo.
In this year’s pro-people National Budget, Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube gave one of the highest allocations to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
The close to $55,2 billion is expected to revamp the country’s education system, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic which demands a new way of conducting school lessons.
Government has also approved a staggered 75 percent salary increment offer for civil servants when negotiations for a new pay deal with the National Joint Negotiating Council resume, thereby quashing any prospects of an industrial action.
As negotiations go on, all stakeholders are encouraged to come up with decisions that prioritises the welfare of the students.
School children are the future of the nation and their welfare should not be compromised for whatever reason.
