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Zimbabwe: Pupils Miss School Due to High Fees
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The Zimbabwe Guardian (London)
21 May 2008
Posted to the web 21 May 2008
Dyke Sithole
Scores of pupils in Bulawayo have not attended lessons since schools opened for the second term as their parents are battling to raise school fees, the Zimbabwe Guardian has learnt.
Pupils in boarding schools, who have failed to pay the required fees and those who have not yet secured places at alternative schools, are still on 'extended holiday' with their fate now uncertain.
The situation is disturbing considering that others have already started learning and it would be a big task to catch up.
A survey in the city showed that it is business as usual with lessons at most schools already in full swing.
However, it was a sorry story for other pupils still struggling to raise the required fees.
Others are still waiting for their parents to get paid this month to be able to raise the required amount.
"I am still trying to raise money for my son who is a boarder at Inyathi mission. The school hiked fees two days ago when schools opened and I have no choice but to have him wait for his father's pay-day this week," said Mavis Ndlovu.
Said another parent: "My friend, you have to understand that things are not all right. We have been let down. While we need the best education for our children, we are no longer able to send our children to schools of their choices because our earnings are very low."
Most parents interviewed agreed that education had indeed become unaffordable and beyond the reach of the majority.
Some pupils are still criss-crossing from one school to the other hoping to find a place, which their parents can afford.
Some parents, with children attending school in the city centre, are also withdrawing their children from school because of the high cost of bus fares.
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Most vacant places in schools in the high-density suburbs have been filled up as the institutions have gone out of their way to accommodate the affected pupils.
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| Copyright © 2008 The Zimbabwe Guardian. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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