Go home you poor child

The coalition government counted the re-opening of schools, which had closed down during the height of the countrys economic chaos in 2008, as one its major achievements. But scenes of children being forced off school property have pushed organisations such as Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to consider legal action to ensure children are guaranteed their right to education without interference from security agents.

David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture, stated that one of his broad policy priorities was to restore basic education for all Zimbabwean children when he was appointed to this key ministry.

But events this week, when schools opened for the 2010 second term, showed that things have remained the same for those children from families in lower income brackets.

Children as young as 10 were forced out of classrooms, as public schools implemented rigorous vetting to ensure that only those who had paid fees and controversial levies attended lessons.

Shockingly for parents, Coltart has defended those schools denying education to students who fail to pay government stipulated fees, as this is provided for in terms of the law although it is the Ministry which must approve the denial of entry to such students. However, this stance, organisations have said, is out of sync with the

stark reality that the majority of Zimbabweans remained unemployed and struggle with basics such as food and high utility bills.

ZLHR, one of the organisations to speak strongly against the denial of education to poor children, pointed out that the government was failing in its obligations to ensure education for all children regardless of class.

The Ministry must urgently put into place concrete measures to ensure that all children are allowed to continue to attend classes even in instances where they have not yet paid fees. Further it must take measures to progressively ensure that there is no requirement for tuition fees at primary and secondary school level, said ZLHR.

O Level candidates who sat for the 2009 examinations numbered less than half of those who registered in 2008 because the majority could not afford high registration fees.

ZLHR said this state of affairs could not be allowed to continue, given that Zimbabwe was party to several international agreements.

The right finds expression in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, amongst other regional and international instruments.

Zimbabwe is a state party to these instruments, said ZLHR.

The State has also committed to UN Millennium Development Goal No. 2 that encourages states to ensure that by 2015 all primary school children complete schooling.