SW Radio Africa (London)
By Lance Guma
26 May 2011
Education Minister Senator David Coltart has told SW Radio Africa that no child should be sent home from school over non-payment of levies. But last week the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association said numerous schools in the city were sending children home, contrary to the announced government policy.
Speaking on our Question Time programme Coltart said; “I find that hard to accept because for a start, headmasters know what the law is. There is a statutory instrument, a law which was published way back in 1998, which makes it very clear children cannot be turned away for non-payment of levies.â€
Coltart said most headmasters tend to hide behind the school fees which are far less than the levies and are ‘nominal.’ He said; “For example in rural primary schools there are no fees payable at all. Even in high density primary schools there is a nominal fee payable per term of no more than US$10 per term which even the poorest people generally can pay.â€
Asked if it was possible headmasters were disregarding the directive Coltart said; “There is a lot of lawlessness which has crept into the education sector in the last decade. A lot of it has been caused by the economic collapse in the country.†He said they have not been able to ‘adequately police the system and many of the district education officers, who are the people responsible, don’t have transport.â€
So what can parents do if their kids are sent back home. “What I ask parents to do is go to their local provincial education director if they are able and report the case to them, so that we can then try and follow up and deal with it,†Coltart said.