The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
AFTER finally paying fees for her primary school children, Mrs Sharon Maisiri of Harare thought the struggle was over.
The mother of three had bought school uniforms, textbooks and exercise books last year in preparation for the opening of the new term.
Being one of the most well-organised parents who do their back-to-school shopping ahead of time, she should have been relaxed by now, as she had done all that was required by the school authorities.
This has, however, not been the case.
Mrs Maisiri was left baffled and disappointed when school authorities turned away her children under the pretext that they (the school) only accepted uniforms purchased from the institution.
At some of the major suppliers of uniforms, primary school uniform sets cost between US$15 and US$25, while those for secondary schools range between US$20 and US$30.
At another major uniform supplier, school jerseys are pegged between US$30 and US$40, with ties going for US$7.
However, at the school where Mrs Maisiri’s children attend, uniforms and other accessories are pegged at almost twice the prices.
“I bought the uniforms from the usual supplier but to my surprise, the school authorities changed the goalposts at the last minute and insisted they now only accept uniforms bought at the institution,” she said.
In Chitungwiza, Ms Shorai Zenda had nasty exchanges with the school authorities when she was asked to pay for extra lessons for her child who is at the early childhood development (ECD) level.
After paying for her school fees in full, Ms Zenda was shocked when she was told, on the school opening day, that she must pay a further US$10 per week for extra lessons.
Furthermore, the teacher requested US$4, which he said was going towards the purchase of bond paper and photocopying of homework and assignments.
“I had no choice but to pay because, if I do not do that, my child will not pass, considering that these teachers have a tendency of neglecting classes in favour of these so-called extra lessons,” said a bitter Ms Zenda.
A survey by The Sunday Mail Society revealed that parents are being held to ransom by greedy school authorities who are making unjustified demands.
The parents and guardians are being left without choice, as going against the school authorities would result in their children failing examinations.
In some cases, the learners are being denied access to classes.
Representing parents and guardians, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights recently wrote to the Goromonzi High School authorities after the institution barred some Form One learners from attending classes. The learners had pitched up at the institution while wearing uniforms that were not sourced from the school.
This is despite Government’s directive that schools cannot compel parents to purchase from them if they have other alternatives.
Harare’s Girls High School also found itself in a fix after the institution’s supplier failed to deliver uniforms on time, forcing some Form One learners to attend classes wearing primary school uniforms.
Fraud
Cases were reported across the country of schools defying Government orders for parents to be allowed to purchase uniforms from suppliers of their choice.
In a Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s public pronouncement that was made in January 2018, parents/guardians were given the freedom to purchase uniforms from suppliers of their choice.
However, the parents should do so in line with the specifications and colour codes of the school.
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education communications and advocacy director Taungana Ndoro reiterated that the Government’s position with regards to the purchase of uniforms remains unchanged.
“It is an act of fraud for schools to force parents to purchase uniforms from them. Parents/guardians should have the freedom to make a choice, so these cases must be reported,” he said.
While the proceeds from the sale of uniforms are used for noble causes such as the repair of school equipment, construction work and purchase of school textbooks, among other things, parents should have the freedom to outsource the uniforms.
Zimbabwe Schools Development Association/Committees’ secretary-general Mr Evaristo Jongwe notes that it is against public principles for schools to make more financial demands from parents considering that most of them are struggling to raise fees.
He said most schools are defrauding parents.
“It is a criminal offence to demand money towards the purchase of bond paper and photocopying from parents because those items would have already been budgeted for. So, basically, that is double dipping,” he said.
Uniform suppliers scandal
Mr Jongwe said the participation of schools in the school uniform business is a way of hiking school fees.
According to Mr Jongwe, some school authorities are conniving to milk parents.
In most cases, the uniform suppliers are school heads and/or staff members.
Some standard criteria, he added, should be followed, whereby school authorities — through the office of the head, chairperson and schools’ development committees — set up a sub-committee that will oversee the procurement and sourcing of the school’s requirements.
“It is the responsibility of these committees to find companies, conduct background checks to see if these entities are registered and have tax clearance,” said Mr Jongwe.
Thereafter, said Mr Jongwe, the companies are requested to submit their quotations and samples for evaluation in a process where schools look at the best quality at average prices.
“This is done, bearing in mind that selling uniforms in schools is for fundraising purposes, hence they should settle for the best quality with lower prices for them to make a little profit from it,” added Jongwe.
Loopholes
In terms of bond paper and other learning materials like textbooks, it is primarily the school that should make provisions for these, said Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) acting secretary-general Mr Goodwill Taderera.
He notes that such materials are factored in when the school authorities come up with their budgets.
Mr Taderera said the association had received complaints that some school authorities are selling school uniforms under the guise of raising funds.
Most of the institutions, he said, are boarding schools, where teachers are working with heads as a syndicate that forces parents to purchase uniforms from them.
He said this is against the ZIMTA policy and that the complaints are being looked into. National Association of Secondary School Heads president Mr Arthur Maphosa, who is the Gwanda High School head, said his association is against teachers who are arm-twisting parents.
“The blame is often thrown into our faces as heads because it is our responsibility to supervise teachers. Some of the teachers often neglect normal classes in favour of extra lessons,” he said.
He urged parents and guardians to report school authorities that are engaging in such illegal fundraising activities.
“The culprits should be reported. Some of the activities do not fall in line with both our association and Government’s policies,” Mr Maphosa said.
Twitter: @VeronGwaze
