Tensions rise in schools

Sunday Mail Reporters
There are growing tensions between School Development Committees (SDCs) and headmasters in schools that are still insisting on merging levies and tuition fees, raising fears that this will likely affect the smooth administration of the affected institutions.

Initially, the initiative to merge the funds was driven by former Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora, who argued that this was likely to improve transparency and accountability.

However, red flags were later raised that not only was this illegal, as it violated Statutory Instrument 87 of 1992, but it created loopholes for funds abuse.

The Sunday Mail has since gathered that while some schools did not merge their School Development Association accounts (levy) with the School Services Fund (tuition fees) as there was neither a circular nor a legal instrument to support the exercise, others, especially in Harare province, decided to implement it nevertheless.

Last week, a Government official, who elected to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said schools in Mbare and Hatfield have been affected the most as SDCs, who claim that the arrangement is opaque and creates fertile ground for funds abuse, continue to rail against school heads who are reluctant to demerge the accounts.

“Some SDCs are finding it difficult to account for their funds, especially after the levies and tuition fees were merged. In fact, bursars have been finding it increasingly difficult to account to parents since it is difficult to disaggregate the accounts data to separate transactions done by schools and those done by SDCs.

“This is an unhealthy situation that compromises transparency. It is illegal, anyway, as it contravenes SI 87 of 1992,” said the official.

“It is creating unnecessary tension in schools.”

In some cases, confusion over signatories of bank accounts was noted, since financial institutions only insists on two approved signatories, irrespective of whether they represent the two constituencies or not.

An anomaly, therefore, arose where school heads, their deputies and senior teachers were signatories to the merged account while neglecting SDA chairpersons and other independent members close to the affairs of the schools.

Minister Paul Mavima recently told The Sunday Mail that a law to merge the accounts hasn’t been enacted yet, and Government will soon engage stakeholders on the way forward.

Part of SI 87 of 1992 reads: “The levy shall be handled by committees selected by parents, SDC and the school head, deputy head and the senior teacher would also form part. An annual general meeting should be held where the committee of parents (SDC) must report to other parents how they have been running the affairs of the school.”

Sources said at schools such as Houghton Park Primary School, the SDC had even given the headmaster an ultimatum to effect some of the resolutions that had been reached by parents to transfer the levy accounts into a separate account.

Parents also took exception to the reluctance by the school authorities to seriously consider their resolutions, and they are now considering taking up the matter with Harare’s provincial education director (PED) if their demands are not met.