The government has warned Private schools against hiking school fees without getting approval from parents and the ministry of primary and secondary education, the Chronicle reports.
The matter came to light as the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education director of communications and advocacy, Mr Taungana Ndoro, laid down the procedure for hiking fees and said:
There is a procedure that schools follow for approval of new fees structures by the Ministry and these are done on a case by case base. That procedure normally involves parents and the school before being submitted to the Ministry. once submitted the Ministry gives its response and you can obtain that response from the schools. Parents and schools are involved in the adjustment. Ministry considers an agreed position between parents and the school
While Mrs Tumisang Thabela, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said they were investigating schools hiking fees without approval:
We are investigating these schools because any increase must be approved by Government.
According to the publication, The Midlands Christian Group of Colleges (MCGC) which runs Midlands Christian College (MCC), Midlands Christian School (MCS) and Treasure Trove (TT) in Gweru have asked parents to pay what it refers to as “overhead costs” of US$1 410, US$910 and US$400 respectively. Petra College is demanding US$1 400 while Girls college is reportedly demanding $1000 from parents.
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