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Midlands Correspondent
THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will freeze school fees increases with effect from 2014, the permanent secretary, Mrs Constance Chigwamba, has said. Addressing school heads soon after the official presentation of the Secretary’s Merit award to Regina Mundi High School in Gweru, Mrs Chigwamba said Government had resolved to freeze school fees increases to ensure that education becomes affordable.

Mrs Chigwamba said the decision came as an instruction from Cabinet.
“Government wants to ensure education is affordable. Therefore, we are working on freezing the increase on school fees.

“Once we get an instruction from Minister Lazarus Dokora to write a circular, we are going to implement it. This is a Cabinet decision,” she said.

Mrs Chigwamba said the country’s economy was becoming stable, therefore there was no need for school fees increases.
“Some schools are pegging exorbitant fees. Education must be affordable. Our economy is stabilising as well,” she said.

Mrs Chigwanda also warned school heads and school development committees against sending pupils away for non-payment of school fees.
She said education was a Constitutional right for all Zimbabwean children, therefore neither the school heads nor SDCs must send pupils away for non-payment of school fees.

Mrs Chigwanda also warned school heads against withholding pupils’ public examination results over unpaid fees.
“I must take this opportunity to warn school heads and SDC chairpersons not to send pupils away for non-payment of school fees.

“Once we do that, we are depriving the pupils of their Constitutional right to education. We do not have that mandate to send the pupils away over school fees arrears. Paying school fees is the parents’ responsibility. Children’s education must come first.

“Our Government is a pro-poor Government and is against the idea of sending pupils away over payment of school fees.
“If the parents are having challenges in raising school fees, there is the Basic Education Assistance Modules (BEAM) which assists these poor pupils to pay their fees.

“There are other organisations that are willing to assist these generally vulnerable pupils,” she said.
Mrs Chigwanda said the Government had also abolished the administration of corporal punishment on pupils as a way of protecting children’s rights as enshrined in our new Constitution.

“If pupils violate school rules and regulations, they should not be punished through whipping but instead, teachers must find a way of correcting that child.

“If the act of misconduct is unbearable, the pupil must be suspended but must be allowed to write the examinations,’’ she said.