The Primary and Secondary Education ministry directed that
schools should accept both methods of payment, with the local currency
component pegged at the prevailing bank rate at a given time.
Currently, the official rate is US$1:$661.
A survey conducted by NewsDay revealed that some schools
are using speculative rates of up to US$1:$1 000, citing skyrocketing cost of
services and a volatile local currency.
A parent whose son is at Seke 3 High in Chitungwiza said
the school was charging US$40 or $40 000 per term, placing the rate at US$1:$1
000.
“I think it is a method (devised) by school authorities to
discourage the RTGS [Real Time Gross Settlement] payment method. But this is
also a big disadvantage for us as parents, especially those of us who earn in
the local currency,” the parent said.
“The behaviour by these school authorities exposes that
government is not serious about the poor accessing education because the
working poor are the ones who are receiving salaries and wages in RTGS.”
A parent with a child at Patsika Primary School in Pfungwe,
Mashonaland East province, told NewsDay that they were paying $15 000 or US$15,
which is equivalent to US$22,67 using the current bank rate.
“These are some of the issues that are fuelling the
parallel market. We all end up looking for the US dollar on the parallel market
to cover that difference,” another parent said.
At Hokodzi Primary School in Murewa district, parents are
paying US$15 or $30 000, giving a rate of US$1:$2 000, while at Chemapango
Primary School in the same district, fees are pegged at US$25 or $35 000 which
translates to US$1:$1 400.
Kotwa Government School in Mudzi district, Mashonaland East
province, is charging $30 000 or US$30.
Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson
Taungana Ndoro said defying a ministerial directive on school fees was illegal.
“It remains illegal to violate government policy and such
schools and their heads risk heavy sanctioning,” Ndoro said.
Some private schools have also increased fees in United
States dollars citing inflation.
One such school is Arundel in Harare, which has pegged its
2023 fees at US$2 980 per term for day scholars and US$5 150 for boarders.
Enrolment fees for a Form 1 place at the same school are
above US$1 500.
Ndoro told State media last month that government will not
block schools from charging exclusively in foreign currency as long as there
was consensus among parents. Newsday
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