Although the tuition fees are set in US dollars, parents
and guardians can pay in local currency at the exchange rate on the date of
payment for Zimbabwean pupils.
For secondary schools, Statutory Instrument 240 of 2023,
Education (Tuition and Boarding Fees) (Government Schools) (Amendment)
Regulations, 2023 (No. 1), sets the tuition fees for S1 schools in low density
suburbs at US$40 a term, for S2 schools in high density suburbs at US$20 a
term, and for S3 schools in rural areas at US$10 a term.
Parents only pay a small fraction of the total costs, with
the State picking up the salaries bill for teachers in Government schools and
some other costs. The extent of this State support can be seen in the gazetted
fees for pupils who live outside Zimbabwe, and who therefore have to pay the
full cost without support from the Zimbabwean taxpayer.
Primary tuition fees for all Government schools for this
group, regardless of where the school is situated, are US$300 a term, and for
secondary schools are US$400 a term. The foreign pupils also have to pay in US
dollars.
Although there are very few foreign pupils, the gazetted
fees for them do indicate the level of support that the Government gives
Zimbabwean pupils, with the fact that Government school teachers are civil
servants assigned to schools, rather than being employed by schools, being the
largest benefit.
Tuition fees can thus be used by the schools for materials
and other expenses.
Besides the gazetted tuition fees, and the expanded BEAM
programme covers these for the pupils from the poorest families, many
Government schools also seek a top-up levy from parents through the schools
development associations. This is allowed, but a majority of parents have to
agree and the Ministry has to approve the charges. Herald
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