Published by the government of Zimbabwe
5 January 2009
editorial
Harare — WHILE we understand that, with the introduction of the Foreign Exchange Licensed Warehouses and Shops, most products and services can only be accessed using hard currency, and that to be viable, schools have to charge fees in hard currency, we feel there is need to strike a balance between school viability and access to education.
The fees proposed by some schools for the First Term that begins January 13 shocked us.
The fees, as reported by our sister paper, The Sunday Mail, are not only astronomical, they are so outrageous they are bound to make education the preserve of the affluent.
The Sunday Mail reports that both public and private schools have indicated that they are pressing for massive hard currency school fees hikes to enable them to sustain operations.
While Private Trust Schools, where the affluent take their children, have the leeway to levy huge figures, still we feel there is need for restraint even if your clientele have deep pockets.
It is given that with the damage wrought by the illegal Western sanctions on Government's capacity to provide adequate social services, even public schools need to charge in forex to sustain operations, but the fees they charge should not condemn the needy to perpetual ignorance.
Infact, with the poor state of many public schools, parents are turning to Trust Schools to get decent education for their children.
It is probably this high demand for services that is making some schools charge fees that are bound to make Zimbabwe the most-expensive country to be educated in.
We can only imagine the damage that will be made to our impeccable record as the country with the second highest literacy rate in Africa after Tunisia.
To this end we urge the Ministry of Education Sport and Culture, the National Incomes and Pricing Commission and even the RBZ to look into this issue as a matter of urgency.
There is need to strike a balance between school viability and access to education.
We are confident that if the School Development Associations and the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture come together and meet halfway, there can be a win-win situation that can guarantee access to quality education.
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Well, the Leader is on Holiday, a full month at least, outside the country as well. This is obviously the result of international sanctions against the country. The Leader cannot afford a holiday inside the country.