Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerai Moyo has called on schools to stop denying learners access to education over unpaid school fees, adding that doing so violates children’s constitutional rights.
Speaking to ZBC News on the sidelines of a meeting with school heads from Mashonaland West Province, held at Jameson High School in Kadoma on Wednesday, 14 May, Moyo also urged parents to pay school fees before the start of each new term. Said Moyo:
As government, we continue to encourage parents to pay school fees for their children before or on the opening day. It is illegal for schools to chase away pupils. As a government, we will decisively deal with school heads who violate learners’ rights. Schools are also warned against withholding exam results.
Schools should be creative and come up with ideas that create extra income to cover expenses. However, we continue to receive reports of schools that are forcing parents to buy uniforms exclusively from them. That is illegal and should stop. Schools should have competitive prices that are informed by market prices.
The meeting focused on administrative challenges faced by schools, with unpaid school fees emerging as a key concern.
School heads who spoke during the session said they are struggling to operate effectively due to widespread non-payment of fees.
However, they noted that the law prevents them from sending students home or withholding their results over unpaid balances. Said a school head:
As school heads, we continue to appeal to the Ministry and government at large to put up effective measures that ensure compliance to payment of school fees and levies. We have no power to deal with defaulting parents as all possible measures are illegal.
A totally specious order by the Minister offering no solution to the problem whatsoever.