GOVERNMENT has, with immediate effect, banned teachers from
charging for weekend extra lessons and those found wanting face disciplinary
action.
The decision comes at a time when the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) is investigating schools that are demanding
payment in foreign currency for extra lessons.
Teachers at six schools that have received forex payment in
Harare have been ordered to reimburse the parents or guardians to avoid
prosecution. Zacc is also pushing for the gazetting of a statutory instrument
that criminalises conducting extra lessons for a fee.
Government has previously said it is illegal to offer extra
lessons to pupils for a fee.
In an interview on the sidelines of the handover of a
state-of-the-art laboratory to Selukwe Chrome Secondary School, as well as a
multipurpose sports court and a bus to Impali Primary School worth over US$300
000 in Shurugwi on Wednesday, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education
permanent secretary Mrs Tumisang Thabela urged teachers to complete their
syllabi on time to avoid extra lessons.
She said extra lessons maybe necessary for examination
classes and pupils lagging behind, but must not be conducted at a fee or during
weekends.
“Conducting of weekend extra lessons by teachers for a fee
is, therefore, banned. Any extra lessons be it during the week or at the
weekend shouldn’t be for a cost to the parents,” said Mrs Thabela.
She said schools can even conduct holiday enrichment
lessons if the teachers identify a gaps, but only at zero budget to the
parents.
“There are those
enrichment lessons during the holidays under the non-formal education
programmes where the schools apply to the provincial education director that
they want to catch up on the syllabus over a two-week period since they must
allow the learners to rest as well. So those holiday enrichment programmes we
don’t stop them because, the teachers will have seen the gaps and would agree
on a province or district by district level when they meet and those ones have
their own regulations. They can do them but at a zero budget so that they allow
children to catch up and that is only for exam classes,” said Mrs Thabela.
Chronicle
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