SCHOOLS that have unilaterally hiked fees and those
charging foreign currency without approval risk deregistration, Government has
warned.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain
Mathema yesterday said schools should strictly adhere to current regulations.
The second term was supposed to begin this week but
President Emmerson Mnangagwa indicated that conditions are not yet conducive
for a safe learning environment, especially in the wake of growing coronavirus
cases.
Despite being closed, most private schools are demanding
upwardly reviewed fees, which have raised the ire of parents and guardians, who
view them as exorbitant.
Minister Mathema said schools that intend to hike their
fees should seek approval first, while those demanding foreign currency should
stop the practice forthwith.
“I must warn them that I will not hesitate to deregister
those out of line. We need as many schools open as possible, but regulations
must be adhered to,” he said.
“Some schools even have the guts to charge in US dollars,
openly, in broad daylight — we are saying that is not good. It must stop!”
Amb Mathema said the Education Act provides for the
approval of any changes in school fees for both private and public
institutions.
“I have seen some invoices but as Government, we don’t
think this is the right time for people to be asking about money when everyone
else is worried about human life.
“Having said that, I would like to emphasise that all fees
increases have to be approved by the Permanent Secretary (Mrs Thabela Tumisang)
and there are no such applications at the ministry yet.”
Some schools are reportedly demanding between US$800 and
US$2 000. Some of the invoices seen by The Sunday Mail include St George’s
College, which is demanding US$1 850 for learners enrolled for secondary
school, while its primary school — Hartmann House — wants between US$930 and
US$1 335 for the new term.
St John’s College is charging between US$900 and US$1 650,
while Heritage School is demanding US$1 300.
Chisipite School is asking parents to stump up US$1 500 or
$90 000 per term, while Dominican Convent is demanding US$800 or ZWL$22 500. St Michael’s Preparatory School fees are pegged at US$890.
Parents complained that the fees were punitive and a
“rip-off” given the current situation where business is subdued due to the
national lockdown.
In their letters to parents and guardians, most schools
said demand for school fees payment was justified as they will soon be
transitioning to online lessons until normalcy returns.
“It is ridiculous for schools to be charging that much for
online education. The question is what are the costs for all that money, say
US$1 500 at Chisipite Senior School? Students are not going to school and
teachers might as well be operating from their homes if they have good internet
connection. This craziness must stop,” said a parent who preferred not to be
named to protect his school-going children.
Another parent pleaded for Government intervention to stop
the new fees frombeing effected.
She said: “Private schools have gone crazy. They are
charging school fees using black market rates. Government should do something
about this.”
A parent at Heritage School in Borrowdale was not amused by
the new fees.
“Heritage is charging more than US$1 300 for online
learning. They do not consider WIFI internet connection charges and gadgets.
Charging exorbitant fees in such an environment?” he said.
Association of Trust Schools chair Mr Tim Middleton was not
available to comment as he is believed to be away.
But Dominican Convent School headmistress Sister Kudzai
Mutsure said they reduced the fees from US$1 000 to US$800 because “when kids
are not in school, money is saved on other budget lines”.
“The major added cost is data for teachers because they
need it for teaching, uploading students’ work, downloading work for marking
and sending it back after,” she said.
In a letter, Watershed College reminded parents of fixed
costs that still need to be paid whether the students are present or not.
Veteran educationist, Dr Caiphus Nziramasanga, said parents
were expected to pay the new fees since schools have salaries and other
conditions of service that need to be paid for.
“Whatever the case, they (schools) still have to pay the
teachers, there is no option,” said Dr Nziramasanga.
“Teachers will do overtime when normalcy returns so that
students are back on track. I understand the concern over the fees, but, look,
this is an unfamiliar situation. The economic problems are not peculiar to
Zimbabwe, but it is a global issue.”
Turning to online learning, Ambassador Mathema said
Government was making efforts to ensure that no student was either left out or
left behind.
“We understand that some schools are not equipped to run
such classes. However, we have partnerships with broadcasters to conduct
classes on radio, television and other broadcasting channels accessible to
many.
“We are working on ensuring that the environment is safe
for our children to return to school. Once we reach that stage, we will make an
announcement on the opening dates.”
Dr Nziramasanga said the success of e-learning will depend
on availability of internet in both schools and for students at home. He said
the programme was likely to be a challenge for most rural schools where some do
not have electricity, let alone internet access.
“Are the teachers skilled to do online teaching, and are
the students able to access gadgets and internet?” Dr Nziramasanga queried.
“For other schools, a postal system could have been used in
open-distance learning but due to the coronavirus, movement is restricted.
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