SCHOOLS must not charge extra money for conducting online
lessons or increase their fees for Term Two without seeking approval from the
Government and those that will ignore the directive risk being de-registered, a
Cabinet Minister has warned.
Addressing a media briefing in Bulawayo yesterday, Primary
and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema said schools that have
demanded that parents pay for online fees and pay for Term Two fees were
extortionist and would be de-registered.
The warning comes at a time when most private schools have
gone on an overdrive demanding that parents either pay for online lessons or
start paying fees for Term Two, which have been reviewed upwards from the first
term. Minister Mathema said while his ministry appreciates that online and
distance learning have become necessary owing to the closure of schools due to
the coronavirus pandemic, there were concerns over how schools were using the
initiative to “extort” money from parents.
“What the nation has experienced recently where such school
initiatives appear to be construed as the start of the second term, with
schools giving deadlines to parents and guardians for the payment of unapproved
fees or levies is unacceptable.
“Some high fees and levies that have been brought to my
attention, including foreign currency, appear extortionist and we should not
have this in education. Section 17 of the Education Act provides for
cancellation of registration by the Secretary. This is not an issue that was
ever considered necessary given the cooperation that existed in the education
sector,” he said.
The Education Act [25:04] applies to all Government and
non-Government schools and correspondence and independent colleges. Minister
Mathema said some private schools have broken the trust the Government had in
them.
“However, the spirit of some of the non-State players in
the sector is no longer clear. Some non-Government schools charge fees and
levies that are initially affordable to many but in due course the fees and
levies are hiked so much that the ministry struggles to cope with the
relocation of some learners to new schools. I cannot emphasise enough the need
for all schools to abide by the law and culture of consultation. We have a
responsibility to be fair to our learners, parents and guardians. No school
should attract our attention by doing wrong things,” he said.
Private schools in the city such as Petra and Whitestone
gave parents up to 15 May to make partial school fees payments while they wait
for Government approval. Deposits were ranging between $10 000 and $27 000.
Parents with children at Masiyephambili said they had been told that Term Two
fees were due last Friday, raising the ire of most parents.
“While the ministry is developing online and distance
learning programmes, school initiatives are welcome. However, such initiatives
by schools must receive the necessary approvals from the ministry before any
implementation takes place,” he said.
Minister Mathema said any fee that is charged for online or
distance learning programmes must receive approval first before schools can
implement them.
“I would want us all to work as a team for the good of our
children. His Excellency, the President has introduced a culture of dialogue,
let us all please live by it because we belong, we all have one country,
Zimbabwe. We therefore have no alternative but to dialogue with each other,” he
stressed.
However, some private schools have defended their stance
saying they were demanding school fees so as to meet salaries for teachers and
support staff, and also to take care of other running costs in SCHOOLS must not
charge extra money for conducting online lessons or increase their fees for
Term Two without seeking approval from the Government and those that will
ignore the directive risk being de-registered, a Cabinet Minister has warned.
Addressing a media briefing in Bulawayo yesterday, Primary
and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema said schools that have
demanded that parents pay for online fees and pay for Term Two fees were
extortionist and would be de-registered.
The warning comes at a time when most private schools have
gone on an overdrive demanding that parents either pay for online lessons or
start paying fees for Term Two, which have been reviewed upwards from the first
term. Minister Mathema said while his ministry appreciates that online and
distance learning have become necessary owing to the closure of schools due to
the coronavirus pandemic, there were concerns over how schools were using the
initiative to “extort” money from parents.
“What the nation has experienced recently where such school
initiatives appear to be construed as the start of the second term, with
schools giving deadlines to parents and guardians for the payment of unapproved
fees or levies is unacceptable.
“Some high fees and levies that have been brought to my
attention, including foreign currency, appear extortionist and we should not
have this in education. Section 17 of the Education Act provides for
cancellation of registration by the Secretary. This is not an issue that was ever
considered necessary given the cooperation that existed in the education
sector,” he said.
The Education Act [25:04] applies to all Government and
non-Government schools and correspondence and independent colleges. Minister
Mathema said some private schools have broken the trust the Government had in
them.
“However, the spirit of some of the non-State players in
the sector is no longer clear. Some non-Government schools charge fees and
levies that are initially affordable to many but in due course the fees and
levies are hiked so much that the ministry struggles to cope with the
relocation of some learners to new schools. I cannot emphasise enough the need
for all schools to abide by the law and culture of consultation. We have a
responsibility to be fair to our learners, parents and guardians. No school
should attract our attention by doing wrong things,” he said.
Private schools in the city such as Petra and Whitestone
gave parents up to 15 May to make partial school fees payments while they wait
for Government approval. Deposits were ranging between $10 000 and $27 000.
Parents with children at Masiyephambili said they had been told that Term Two
fees were due last Friday, raising the ire of most parents.
“While the ministry is developing online and distance
learning programmes, school initiatives are welcome. However, such initiatives
by schools must receive the necessary approvals from the ministry before any
implementation takes place,” he said.
Minister Mathema said any fee that is charged for online or
distance learning programmes must receive approval first before schools can
implement them.
“I would want us all to work as a team for the good of our
children. His Excellency, the President has introduced a culture of dialogue,
let us all please live by it because we belong, we all have one country,
Zimbabwe. We therefore have no alternative but to dialogue with each other,” he
stressed.
However, some private schools have defended their stance
saying they were demanding school fees so as to meet salaries for teachers and
support staff, and also to take care of other running costs in school
maintenance. Sunday News
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