Education Minister considers making non-payment of school fees a criminal offense
By Dumisani Ndlovu
Zimbabwe’s Education Minister, Torerai Moyo, has suggested that schools petition Parliament to make non-payment of fees and levies a criminal offense.
Minister Moyo made these remarks while addressing the 2024 National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH) annual conference in Victoria Falls on Thursday.
This comes as some parents exploit the government’s education policy, which protects children’s rights, by refusing to pay fees. Schools are unable to send students home or withhold exam results for non-payment, leading to accumulated unpaid fees and levies.
Minister Moyo emphasized that parents should take responsibility and pay fees in full before schools open. He urged schools to negotiate payment plans with parents facing genuine financial difficulties instead of withholding results.
The minister’s proposal aims to address the detrimental impact of non-payment on school operations.
“The National Association of Primary Heads and National Association of Secondary Heads, representing school heads in Zimbabwe, may consider petitioning Parliament to criminalize non-payment of school fees and levies. This move aims to encourage parents to fulfil their financial obligations and support the sustainable operation of schools,” he said.
Parents are aware that schools are not permitted to send learners home or withhold their public examination results for non-payment of fees.
As a result, many are no longer motivated to fulfil their financial obligations to the schools.
In some cases, children have accumulated unpaid fees and levies over several terms or years, and their parents invoke the government’s policy when school authorities raise the issue of outstanding payments.
Minister Moyo said that the failure to pay fees has a detrimental impact on the overall operations of schools.
Responding to issues raised by school heads through their president, Arthur Maphosa, especially over non-payment of school fees, which is crippling schools’ operations, Moyo said:
“Fees and levies should be paid in full before schools open. Parents should show their responsibility and pay fees. As headmasters you have no right to turn away pupils for not paying and doing so will be violating their rights”.
“We are aware that some parents were exploiting the government’s education policy by deliberately refusing to pay school fees,” Minister Moyo added.
The Minister suggested that school authorities should explore innovative strategies to incentivize parents to pay their children’s tuition fees, rather than relying on withholding results or criminalizing non-payment.
“Instead of withholding students’ results, find alternative ways to recover the debt. I’ve encouraged school heads to consider taking the issue to Parliament to make non-payment of school fees and levies a criminal offense,” said the Minister with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
He urged parents experiencing financial difficulties to engage with schools to negotiate payment plans, rather than using the policy as an excuse to avoid paying fees.
“Don’t withhold results. Why don’t you find a way of recovering your money? I told representatives of NAPH and NASH to consider petitioning Parliament to criminalise non-payment of school fees and levies,” he said.
The National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) and the National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH) are the designated representative bodies for primary and secondary school administrators in Zimbabwe, respectively. These organizations serve as the collective voice for school heads, advocating for their interests and promoting the development of education in the country.
