Education Minister David Coltart took his first few steps towards being unpopular with parents after announcing a new fee structure, pegged in United States dollars, for primary and secondary schools in the country. Not only have the fees been slammed as unreasonably high but they discriminate between people living Under the new fee structure pupils attending government primary schools
situated in low density urban areas will now pay US$150 per term, while
foreign pupils in the same schools will be required to pay US$300.
Pupils attending primary schools in high density areas will be required
to pay US$20 in tuition fees per term while foreigners pay US$300.
While students in rural areas don't pay anything, foreign students in
the same schools will still have to pay US$300.
Coltart said Forms One to Four pupils attending secondary schools
located in low density areas will now be charged US$200 per term while
Forms Five and Six will pay US$280. Foreign pupils attending the same
schools will pay US$600. Meanwhile Forms One to Four pupils attending
high density suburb schools will pay US$100, while A Level students
will be charged US$180 per term. Foreign pupils will have to fork out
US$400 in tuition fees.
Although primary school students in the rurals areas will not pay
anything their secondary school counter-parts will be required to pay
US$50 for attending Forms One to Four. A Level students there will be
required to pay US$80, with foreign students paying US$200. The same
Education Ministry last month paid teachers US$100 vouchers as
allowances on top of their worthless Zimbabwe dollar salaries. It is
also against this salary background that the new fee structures are
being viewed as unreasonable.
Our correspondent in Harare Simon Muchemwa said many sectors are being
affected by high charges for goods and services pegged in foreign
currency. He said the City of Harare for example announced a new
US$185million dollar city budget presented and approved by the council
on the 4th of March. Under that budget, burial fees will be US$150 to
US$250 depending on the area, refuse collection (US$10-20) per week,
ambulance fees US$10, vehicle licence fees US$50-150 depending on
vehicle and clinic fees of US$10 among other charges.
MDC Ministers are running most of the ministries which are presiding
over companies and institutions charging high services charges.
Examples include the ministries of Information and Communication
Technology, Energy and Power Development, Education Sport and Culture
and the Health Ministry. While Mugabe's party takes a back seat, the
MDC it is feared will take the blame for the high service charges.
SW Radio Africa
Post published in: News