The Sunday Mail
Extra Reporter
Parents should stop taking advantage of a Government directive barring schools from turning away children whose fees would not have been paid, saying this is stifling development of the education sector and learning institutions.
Many parents and guardians have challenges paying school fees and levies due to the economic climate. Schools had resorted to sending away children whose fees were not paid up but Government intervened and stopped that practice.
“But parents are now taking advantage of the situation and are now paying fees when they feel they want to,” said education expert Deiter Perkins. “The situation cannot go on like that, schools need fees to be paid on time to run smoothly and develop further. Everyone should play their part and stop hiding behind laws.”
Section 6 of the Education Act reads: “It is the objective that tuition in schools in Zimbabwe be provided for the lowest possible fees consistent with the maintenance of high standards of education, and the minister shall encourage the attainment of this objective by every appropriate means, including the making of grants and other subsidies to schools.”
In turn, this means when Government has done its part by making fees as affordable as is feasible, parents and guardians must do their bit.
Zimbabwe Teachers Association CEO Sfiso Ndlovu said, “Education is a child’s right. The problem now is the belligerent parent,” he said. “We must find instruments of dealing with them such as taking them to court. The same laws that protect them should also protect the school. If it means that they should be arrested then let it be because schools need money to run smoothly and for the child to receive quality education.”
Zimbabwe Schools Development Associations and Committees president Claudio Mutasa said institutions were often left with no choice but to take defaulting parents/guardians to court — but this had its own problems.
“With Zimbabwean laws, sometimes the process is long and schools may find themselves spending more money in the process. So as parents, we are saying let us play our part, the children are ours and the schools are also ours,” he said.
