The government has changed its position on allowing schools to charge fees exclusively in foreign currency.
Just over a week ago, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education spokesperson, Taungana Ndoro, told State media that schools are permitted to charge fees exclusively in foreign currency as long as the majority of the parents and guardians of learners support the move.
He said the government will not block schools from charging exclusively in foreign currency if the majority of parents agree to the decision.
However, on Monday, Ndoro was quoted as saying the pegging of school fees in foreign currency is allowed but parents and guardians retain the right to pay fees in the currency of their choice at the prevailing official exchange rate. Said Ndoro:
All institutions providing primary and secondary education are reminded that they fall under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
Therefore, they are bound by the procedures to be followed when making school fees adjustments, that is to say, approval must be granted by the ministry before any adjustments are made.
On paying fees in foreign currency, the Government policy position is that fees must be paid in Zimbabwean dollars at the prevailing interbank rate.
However, if parents have free funds in foreign currency, they can pay but no school must force any parent to pay in foreign currency and if schools have pegged fees in foreign currency, parents must be allowed to pay in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate of the day the fees are paid.
This is a clear departure from his previous comments when he said if parents who oppose the move are in the minority, they should take their children to other schools. He said then:
If parents have a consensus we cannot stop them, if they agree as a majority that they want to pay for their children in foreign currency we will not block them.
Yes, we have the policy that says schools cannot charge exclusively in forex but remember we are dealing with a community of parents and if they collectively decide on something we will not stand in their way.
What we are emphasising is the need for a consensus as in a majority of the parents.
The ministry will come in when we discover that such a decision was imposed and a majority of the parents did not endorse it.
However, if the minority would have been against the decision and feel aggrieved by the decision or that they cannot afford the arrangement of paying exclusively in foreign currency, they have an option of making alternative arrangements like transferring their children to schools where they feel they can afford the fees.