Former Education Minister Senator David Coltart has ridiculed the government’s warning against private schools that have requested tuition fees for the second term.
Coltart queried how the schools will raise funds to pay teachers if they were not allowed to demand fees. He tweeted:
This warning is utterly ridiculous. Where does this regime expect private schools to get money to pay teachers if schools can’t demand payment of school fees?
Furthermore, schools cannot remain closed indefinitely and at the very least should be teaching online.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Cain Mathema said schools should follow normal procedures before increasing fees.
Speaking during the launch of the Schools’ Covid-19 Response programme at Chikangwe High School in Mashonaland West, Mathema said:
No increase will be permitted that is effected outside the laid down procedures which require the written approval of the Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education.
Schools that continue to flout the regulations stand warned; the Ministry will not hesitate to deregister schools that purport to be educational institutions and yet indulge in unlawful activities.