Students turned away for non-payment of fees

Posted by on Thursday, September 13, 2012 in Students, Zimbabwe politics | 1 comment

Education Minister David Coltart

By Tererai Karimakwenda
13 September 2012

Thousands of students will not have the opportunity to attend classes this term after they were turned away for non-payment of fees, by both primary and secondary schools in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

According to a survey by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), at least nineteen schools denied access to school children who failed to produce school fees receipts.

In addition an estimated 50,000 students on the government’s cadetship programme were barred from registering for classes with universities, that are demanding that millions of dollars in unpaid bills be settled by government first.

According to the state controlled Herald newspaper, the government owes a total of $100 million to the ten universities that participate in the programme. Government, in theory, pays the tuition fees for students, who in turn promise to work in Zimbabwe for a specified number of years.

Education Minister David Coltart blamed government for not making education a priority while allocating much more money to the defence budget and travel. He said problems will persist as long as education is sidelined.

Asked about the children who were turned away Coltart said: “I don’t like it and it needs to change, but schools are in a very difficult situation. It costs a lot of money to run them and pay for water and electricity.”

Coltart explained that government has set minimal fees which he felt most parents should be able to pay, if they make education for their children a priority. He said primary schools in rural districts are free and urban districts charge $10 per term. Secondary schools in urban districts charge $20 per term.

But students have to also pay levies which are determined by each individual school after consulting with parents. The Minister admitted this may be unaffordable for some parents, especially those who cannot find jobs.

Meanwhile the Herald said Higher Education Minister Stan Mudenge blamed Finance Minister Tendai Biti for the problem. Mudenge said only $1 million of the required $42 million this year had been released by Biti so far.
But the Finance Minister insists there is no money in the treasury and the funds from the sale of diamonds continue to only enrich the ZANU PF and military elite.

  • wilbert_mukori

    This madness has to stop! So this GNU paid US$1 million for High
    Education for the whole year and yet has been paying Mugabe US$ 3 million each
    time he travels overseas. He has made over eight trip to the Far East in the
    last year alone; ie US$ 24 million.

    Zimbabweans have made the mistake of
    blaming Mugabe and Zanu PF alone for the country’s mess; Tsvangirai and MDC are
    equally responsible for this mess. Everyone worth their salt warned MDC that
    the GPA was unworkable and the idiots would not listen. Now that the doubters
    have been proven right; MDC must carry the blame.

    We only have to look at Tsvangirai
    and his MDC friends to see why they were so keen to enter into this useless and
    dysfunctional political marriage. It has been a miserable four years for the
    ordinary Zimbabweans but not so for Tsvangirai and co. They have done very,
    very well thank you!

    Last week Tsvangirai was hobnobbing
    with US President Obama; not that he learnt anything, of course. When he
    returned he was busy moving into his US$ 2.5 million mansion and making the
    final preparations for his “no expense spared” mother of all weddings this
    weekend! He could not be bothered about the thousands of Zimbabweans children
    who, for no fault of their own, are being denied an education and thus a future.
    He is too busy for that and all the other teething problems that this GNU has
    failed to address.

    Tsvangirai is rightly proud of his
    rags to riches and great political power tale; for someone who should by right
    be herding goats in Buhera! Zimbabweans should be hanging our collect heads in
    shame at how a flawed and indecisive goat-herder had con us into believing he would
    get us out of this mess!