Parents and guardians who are being forced by teachers to
pay for extra lessons, chair bags and other demands in foreign currency outside
what has been officially approved must report to the Ministry of Primary and
Secondary Education for corrective action to be taken.
Many parents allege that there are teachers who demand
between US$1 and US$5 a child per week for extra lessons, or demand that
parents buy chair bags that cost double the price of similar products on the
market.
Parents suspect that some school heads are benefiting from
the illegal scheme, although there are reports of some heads making it clear
that parents must not make the payments since they were not approved.
Some schools that have been mentioned for having teachers
who demand extra payments are Hatfield Junior School in Harare, Seke 2 and 5
high schools in Chitungwiza.
Widdecombe Primary School in Ruwa has since written to
parents and guardians telling them to ignore the teachers’ demands, as they
were not sanctioned.
“The school head’s office has been inundated with visits
and calls to seek clarification for amounts of monies being asked for by some
teachers through their children for any purposes,” reads the letter seen by The
Herald dated January 29.
“So, therefore, this office hereby clarifies that there has
been no approval whatsoever from school authorities to levy such monies from
parents.”
Some teachers at Hatfield Junior School are demanding that
all students must buy chair bags from a recommended supplier.
These chair bags cost US$6 from the teachers’ supplier, but
some parents say they can get them elsewhere for half the price.
Pupils who fail to comply are reportedly isolated during
scheduled teaching times, and are usually at the end of all punishments, including
being beaten daily on frivolous charges.
Parents are also furious over payments for “extra lessons”.
“Teachers do not appreciate that we live in the same
challenging economic environment as them,” said Mrs Theresa Sibanda, whose
daughter learns at Hatfield Junior.
“We struggle to pay the fees and they make such ridiculous
demands. “It is disappointing to note that teachers do not
appreciate that we also face financial challenges like everyone else in the
country.
“Ever since some parents, including myself, raised concern
over the high price of the chair bag, my daughter tells me that she is being
beaten by her teacher daily on funny charges. Government should intervene and
save the parents and the national school system, which is under threat from
such teachers.”
A parent whose child learns at Jonasi Secondary School in
Seke, just outside Chitungwiza, said she was paying US$1 per week for extra
lessons.
“I have no choice but to pay the money being demanded by my
child’s teacher,” said the parent.
“I was told that the teacher was now preferring to teach
only those that attend extra lessons.”
Permanent Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education Mrs
Tumisang Thabela said teachers demanding extra payments or forex payments
should be reported for corrective action.
“Teachers are employed to teach during the scheduled time,
so whatever happens during outside this time like extra lessons is not
something that will be done with the knowledge or sanction of the ministry,”
she said.
“On school uniforms, the ministry’s policy has been
pronounced quite clearly on a number of times. Parents must buy to their best
advantage. There is no school that is supposed to force parents to buy uniforms
from itself.
“So, perhaps what we are appealing for from the public is,
if there are such examples, let us be made aware and then we can handle the
situation from there.”
The secretary general of Zimbabwe Schools Development
Committees and Associations, Mr Everisto Jongwe, said recently that there was
nothing wrong with teachers taking extra money from parents so long as they
were in agreement.
“If the schools, standing SDCs and parents are in
agreement, then there shouldn’t be any problem because this is a sure way of
keeping teachers in schools and ensuring quality education,” he said.
Mr Jongwe said those who could not afford should not be
forced to pay or penalised.
Mr Richard Gundane of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association
said while teachers were receiving incentives, there were fears that if the
practice remained unregulated, it could subject parents to manipulation by
unscrupulous teachers.
For decades, teachers have offered extra lessons for extra
payment, but the practice has only been tolerated so long as there is no
compulsion and teachers do not differentiate between pupils. Herald
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