Education Minister Says Schools Can Have Non-payment Of Fees Criminalised
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerai Moyo has suggested that schools should collectively petition Parliament to make the non-payment of fees and levies by parents and guardians a criminal offence.
Minister Moyo made these remarks while addressing the 2024 National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH) annual conference in Victoria Falls on Thursday.
The minister’s proposal stems from concerns that some parents are deliberately exploiting the government’s education policy, which is intended to protect the rights of children, by deliberately refusing to pay school fees and levies.
Parents are aware that schools are not permitted to send learners home or withhold their public examination results for non-payment of fees.
As a result, many are no longer motivated to fulfill their financial obligations to the schools.
In some cases, children have accumulated unpaid fees and levies over several terms or years, and their parents invoke the government’s policy when school authorities raise the issue of outstanding payments.
Minister Moyo said that the failure to pay fees has a detrimental impact on the overall operations of schools.
Responding to issues raised by school heads through their president, Arthur Maphosa, especially over non-payment of school fees, which is crippling schools’ operations, Moyo said:
Fees and levies should be paid in full before schools open. Parents should show their responsibility and pay fees.
As headmasters you have no right to turn away pupils for not paying and doing so will be violating their rights.
Minister Moyo expressed concern that some parents were exploiting the government’s education policy by deliberately refusing to pay school fees.
He urged those facing genuine financial difficulties to engage directly with school authorities to negotiate reasonable payment plans instead of using the policy as a pretext to avoid their financial obligations. He added:
Don’t withhold results. Why don’t you find a way of recovering your money? I told representatives of NAPH and NASH to consider petitioning Parliament to criminalise non-payment of school fees and levies.
The National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) and the National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH) are the respective unions representing primary and secondary school heads in Zimbabwe.
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