Tuition fees for Government schools for next year were gazetted yesterday by Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo with those for primary schools ranging from US$5 a term for P3 rural schools, through US$10 a term for P2 schools in high density suburbs and US$20 a term for P1 low density suburban schools.
Although the tuition fees are set in US dollars, parents and guardians can pay in local currency at the exchange rate on the date of payment for Zimbabwean pupils.
For secondary schools, Statutory Instrument 240 of 2023, Education (Tuition and Boarding Fees) (Government Schools) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (No. 1), sets the tuition fees for S1 schools in low density suburbs at US$40 a term, for S2 schools in high density suburbs at US$20 a term, and for S3 schools in rural areas at US$10 a term.
Parents only pay a small fraction of the total costs, with the State picking up the salaries bill for teachers in Government schools and some other costs. The extent of this State support can be seen in the gazetted fees for pupils who live outside Zimbabwe, and who therefore have to pay the full cost without support from the Zimbabwean taxpayer.
Primary tuition fees for all Government schools for this group, regardless of where the school is situated, are US$300 a term, and for secondary schools are US$400 a term. The foreign pupils also have to pay in US dollars.
Although there are very few foreign pupils, the gazetted fees for them do indicate the level of support that the Government gives Zimbabwean pupils, with the fact that Government school teachers are civil servants assigned to schools, rather than being employed by schools, being the largest benefit.
Tuition fees can thus be used by the schools for materials and other expenses.
Besides the gazetted tuition fees, and the expanded BEAM programme covers these for the pupils from the poorest families, many Government schools also seek a top-up levy from parents through the schools development associations. This is allowed, but a majority of parents have to agree and the Ministry has to approve the charges.
