Schools Struggle To Meet Operational Costs As Govt Turns Down Fees Increment Proposals

Public Schools in Zimbabwe are failing to meet operational costs after the government turned down their proposals to increase school fees.

School heads who spoke to The Herald observed that the situation is being worsened by the soaring inflation. One headteacher said:

The increments we applied for, that were duly discussed, proposed and voted on by the school development association (SDA) of parents, and based on a budget that was looking at simply maintaining standards, have not been approved.

It is bad enough for all schools. But for schools with boarding facilities, it is extra difficult. It is a daily headache to feed the children.

Prices of commodities have, for the past twenty-four months been going up and increasing fees was a strategy to cover the variance.

The government, on the other hand, argues that increased fees are exclusionary as they can only be afforded by rich people while the have-nots will be forced to drop out of school.

More: The Herald