The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has dispatched officials to investigate claims some school authorities in Harare were turning away pupils for non-payment of fees.
This was said by Edgar Moyo, who is Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister during the Question and Answer session in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Responding to MPs, Moyo said disciplinary action was being instituted against school authorities that were violating the Ministry’s directive that pupils should not be sent home for non-payment of school fees. He said:
Schools are not allowed to send away students. The contract of school fees payment is between the school and the parents and not the students.
Where schools are sending away children who have not paid fees, there are penalties.
The penalty is a charge that is attracted by that action.
As I speak, yesterday (Tuesday) we got information that some schools here in Harare sent away children who had not paid fees and this morning our officers were in those schools where we expect charges to be preferred against the culprits.
If those cases are reported to us, we take corrective measures.
As I have already indicated, I may not name the schools in Harare where we sent officers this morning to go and interview the children, interview the teachers, the heads, with a view of preferring charges on those headmasters.
When I say charges, I am referring to disciplinary processes where we prefer a charge and say in terms of this section, you have committed an act of misconduct.
Arguably, the main reason why some parents in Zimbabwe are unable to pay school fees for their children is the prevalence of poverty.
Zimbabwe has a high poverty rate and many families struggle to make ends meet. In such cases, paying school fees may not be a priority for some families.
Moyo also said measures were being taken against schools that were rejecting payment in local currency and accepting payment in foreign currency only.
Schools are allowed to set their fees in US dollars but if a parent wants to pay in Zimbabwe dollars, they use the prevailing interbank rate on the date of payment.
More: Pindula News