The Zimbabwean

By Tererai Karimakwenda

14 September 2012

Thousands of students will not have the opportunity to attend classes this term after they were turned away for non-payment of fees, by both primary and secondary schools in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

According to a survey by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), at least nineteen schools denied access to school children who failed to produce school fees receipts.

In addition an estimated 50,000 students on the government’s cadetship programme were barred from registering for classes with universities, that are demanding that millions of dollars in unpaid bills be settled by government first.

According to the state controlled Herald newspaper, the government owes a total of $100 million to the ten universities that participate in the programme. Government, in theory, pays the tuition fees for students, who in turn promise to work in Zimbabwe for a specified number of years.

Education Minister David Coltart blamed government for not making education a priority while allocating much more money to the defence budget and travel. He said problems will persist as long as education is sidelined.

Asked about the children who were turned away Coltart said: “I don’t like it and it needs to change, but schools are in a very difficult situation. It costs a lot of money to run them and pay for water and electricity.”

Coltart explained that government has set minimal fees which he felt most parents should be able to pay, if they make education for their children a priority. He said primary schools in rural districts are free and urban districts charge $10 per term. Secondary schools in urban districts charge $20 per term.

But students have to also pay levies which are determined by each individual school after consulting with parents. The Minister admitted this may be unaffordable for some parents, especially those who cannot find jobs.

Meanwhile the Herald said Higher Education Minister Stan Mudenge blamed Finance Minister Tendai Biti for the problem. Mudenge said only $1 million of the required $42 million this year had been released by Biti so far.

But the Finance Minister insists there is no money in the treasury and the funds from the sale of diamonds continue to only enrich the ZANU PF and military elite. 

NewsDay

By Sheryleen Masuku

13 September 2012

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart yesterday defended headmasters for sending pupils away for not paying fees, saying government and parents should take the blame for humiliating children.

Coltart’s remarks come in the wake of reports that a number of schools had sent pupils back home when schools opened for the third term this week over outstanding fees contrary to a ruling by the High Court and a government directive ordering schools to stop the practice.

In an interview, Coltart blamed the inclusive government for failing to prioritise education in the country.

“The government has not made education a real priority,” he said. “It spends a lot of money on other issues. For example, this year government allocated $5,5 million to education and $35 million to defence, that is about six times more than the amount that has been allocated to education. The inclusive government needs to make education a priority.”

Coltart said headmasters should not be blamed for sending pupils away because they were not getting money from government.

“They need money to run the schools and pay for groundsmen and other things. As a result headmasters are finding themselves in a difficult situation.”

He said the pupils were the worst affected as they were caught in the middle of a fight between their parents and the schools.

“Children are being used as weapons to source payment by both their parents and their schools,” he said.

“It is humiliating for children to be sent back home, but on the other hand if parents do not pay it leads to the collapse of the education system.

“Parents also need to prioritise their children’s education and make sacrifices. In some instances schools are asking for only $20 and we have cases were both parents are working and failing to pay and yet they spend money on beer and airtime whist they are failing to pay fees.”

He said there was need to deeply analyse the challenges facing both parents and headmasters.
A headmaster at a Bulawayo school visited by NewsDay yesterday dismissed claims from his students that they were being sent home for non-payment of fees.

“We do not send children away, but we give them letters to take to their parents reminding them about outstanding fees and also inviting them to come and negotiate terms of payment with us,” he said.

Students at the school revealed that classrooms were more than half empty with most schoolmates having been sent back home over outstanding fees.

NewsDay

By Henry Mhara

13 September 2012

The minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, has tasked his deputy Lazarus Dokora to work with Zifa to raise funds for the broke association ahead of the decisive 2013 African Cup of Nations second leg final qualifier match against Angola next month.

The Warriors beat Angola 3-1 in the first leg last Sunday.

However, Coltart warned Zifa to clean their house first.

“Unfortunately, the government has very limited financial resources, but I think the financial resources will flow when the public and the corporate in particular have confidence in the administration of football.”

“At the player level we have enormous talent, but that has not been backed up by competence at the administrative level. Corporates want to be associated with positive brands and not a negative brand.

“The moment football is viewed as a positive brand in Zimbabwe, you will find that corporates will come flooding in. That will lead in growing confidence and growing revenue, more players playing at home and general strengthening of football,” said Coltart.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Absa Premiership side Bidvest Wits University said they are committed to work with Zifa, but only if the country’s mother body follow the set-down football rules.

Zifa and Wits clashed over the release of midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha.

Wits claim they received the letter of request late, while Warriors team manager Nyika Chifamba insists the letter was sent on time.

Wits team manager George Mugotsi yesterday said: “The people from that side did not send the letter on time. We then received a phone call from the Zimbabwe secretariat accusing us of refusing to release the player and my CEO was not happy at all. He is a lawyer and he knows the rules very well.

“The rules say the football federation should write to clubs 14 days before the match, and that did not happen,” said Mogotsi.

Wits have Ofentse Nato of Botswana and Robin Ngalande of Malawi who all played for their national teams over the weekend.

Zifa boss Cuthbert Dube has said his board will investigate the matter which also saw striker Knowledge Musona failing to come for the Angola match.

12 September 2012

Senator David Coltart, is concerned that the Attorney General is being used as a weapon than an instrument for justice in Zimbabwe.

“The failure by the AG and the police to investigate and arrest cases of murder, violence and corruption is a cause for concern,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean.

The Senator is considering retiring from active politics and returning to the legal field. “I have been out of legal practice for too long. I intend to retire from politics but I am not saying when because I have not decided yet,” he said.

He said he would love to follow in the footsteps of MDC-T’s Eric Matinenga, who recently announced that he would be retiring from active politics at the end of his term next year.

Coltart told The Zimbabwean he was watching developments in the country closely and would wait for the outcome of the constitution-making process, which has been stalled by Zanu (PF).

“I want to see what comes out of the constitutional reform process, but I will listen to my constituency and family,” he said. “I have a mandate to perform as senator, which I should be concluding in June. Also, as the Minister of Education, I must focus on fulfilling my mandate as best as I can.”

Coltart said the SADC facilitation team in the Zimbabwe crisis had played a crucial role in bringing some level of normalcy to the country, which almost plunged into war during the 2008 presidential run-off.

“I think it (SADC facilitation) has been critically important. In 2008, you remember the pit that Zimbabwe had fallen into—high inflation, corruption and all sorts of ills— it was SADC facilitation which brought back some sanity,” he said.

The MDC-N Senator for Khumalo constituency in Bulawayo, was appointed Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture soon after the formation of the inclusive government in 2009. Since the election as MP in 2000, he has assisted scores of desperate people in his constituency with school fees through his humanitarian fund which he set up with the assistance of friends.

“I value education and health a lot. Through this fund, I have managed to pay fees for school children and university students, in addition to medical expenses and rentals for some deserving people in the constituency,” said Coltart in an interview with The Zimbabwean.

Through the fund, Coltart has also sponsored self-help training courses for Patricia Nabanyama, the widow of the late Patrick Nabanyama who mysteriously disappeared in the year 2000 and is believed to have been murdered by suspected Zanu (PF) supporters. He was Coltart’s polling agent before the split of the MDC in 2005.

Since his appointment as Minister, Coltart has been working tirelessly to restore sanity and excellence to the education sector – although with very limited resources. Among his notable achievements has been the sourcing of funds from donor partners to buy text books.

He also scored a first by introducing minority languages such as Tonga in schools. Tonga was officially tested at Grade 7 in some schools for the first time in October last year.

“I have never worked as hard as I have done during the past four years since my appointment as a minister. When I took over, the education sector was in a serious crisis. Although we have done a lot to improve the situation, a lot more still needs to be done,” said Coltart.

Most schools in the country are in dilapidated conditions and need urgent rehabilitation.

“This year we have only received 6% of our budget yet our schools are crumbling. We need money to buy school desks, repair roofs , floors and reconstruct toilets. The situation has reached catastrophic levels,” he said.

Coltart was first elected MDC Bulawayo South MP in June 2000 and was re-elected in 2005. During the March 2008 elections, he opted to contest a senatorial seat.

“One of the reasons why I opted for a senatorial seat is that debates in the lower house were unproductive. We spent most of the time shouting at each other,” he said.

People in the constituency who spoke to The Zimbabwean say it is regrettable that Coltart is not as visible in the constituency as he used to be when he was MP.

“When he was our MP he used to regularly hold feedback meetings. Now we no longer see him and most of the time he will be in Harare. In the next elections, I think he should reconsider reverting to an MP. We need him to complete some of the projects he initiated,” said Shepard Pangayi, a resident in the constituency.

Another resident, Tinashe Chakandinakira, said a lot of youths in the constituency were unemployed and hoped that Coltart would come to their rescue.

“There is high employment in this constituency. The majority of the people used to work for industries that have now collapsed. We want the Senator to use his close connections with the donor community to source funds for youth projects in the area,” said Chakandinakira.

The Chronicle

11 September 2012

A majority of schools in Bulawayo yesterday sent home hundreds of pupils for non-payment of fees and levies.
The schools once again defied a High Court judgment and the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture directive which forbids such an exercise.

Schools opened for the third term yesterday and pupils from different schools could be seen loitering in the streets as early as 8am as they were denied entry into their school premises.

Last year, Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maphios Cheda with Justice Nicholas Ndou agreeing, made a landmark ruling that school heads who expel, suspend or withhold pupils’ results on the basis of non-payment of fees and levies were committing an offence under Section 7 of the Children’s Act. The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, is on record warning schools against sending away pupils over non-payment of fees.

More than 20 schools in the city barred pupils who had not paid the fees and levies from entering school premises.

In separate interviews yesterday, parents with children at Mzilikazi Primary School said they were sent away for non-payment of fees by their headmaster who stood at the gate to vet pupils.

“My child was sent away from school in the morning by his headmaster who stood at the gate with a security guard to check for school fees receipts before we could be allowed entrance into the school premises. They were told we had to make full fees payment before attending school,” said the man.

One of the parents whose child attends Mpumelelo Primary School in Mpopoma said many pupils were sent home in the morning and only a few had attended classes.

“Our children were sent home because they did not have receipts that prove we paid about $23, their school fees per term. This is so serious because school authorities expect us to pay full fees when things are so tough,” said the woman who refused to be identified.

Another parent, Mrs Anesu Khumalo, said by 7.30am her child was back from school.

“My child came back home saying security guards at her school refused her entry because she had no receipts proving she paid school fees. We know that it is our responsibility to pay fees but we have to make payment plans so that at least by this month end, we clear all arrears,” she said.

In a statement yesterday, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) information officer Mr Zibusiso Dube condemned the exercise, saying it was a violation of children’s rights to education.

“Hundreds of Bulawayo students were today turned away from school for non-payment of fees despite directives by the Ministry of Education that school authorities should not do so.

“In a survey around the city, we identified at least 19 schools, both primary and secondary, that denied children access to school due to failure by the pupils to produce school fees receipts,” said Mr Dube.
He said there was a need for the Ministry to put measures in place to ensure that schools adhered to the directives of the Government on education.

“The schools include Mgoqo, Mawaba, Nduba, Mkhithika, Nyamande, Mgiqika, Pelandaba, Mpumelelo, Mckeurtan, Newmansford, Matshayisikhova, Senzangakhona, and Mkhithika Primary Schools as well as Nkulumane, Gifford, Townsend, Emakhandeni, Sikhulile and Luveve High schools. Children were chased away for different reasons including non-payment of the third term’s tuition fees, failure to clear balances from previous terms, and various levies such as building levy,” he said.

The Chronicle

11 September 2012

Education is a basic right and every effort must be made to ensure every boy and girl is in school. This helps the country groom enlightened citizens. While not all children are gifted academically, there is a certain level of education, secondary education, that every child should attain. This will help the child even if they are to go for vocational training or pursue a career in sports, arts or music. They will at least have a basic education to help them in their fields while the academically gifted ones pursue their own dreams up to university level.

On Monday there were disturbing reports that some schools are demanding that parents should pay full fees and levies before their children could be admitted into class.

This left some parents with children at boarding schools desperate and being forced to run around looking for money after their children had been barred from boarding school buses to take them to their schools.
Previously parents who could not pay the fees and levies in one instalment were agreeing on payment plans with school authorities.

The payment plans allowed the parents to pay the fees in instalments, which was an understandable arrangement for those parents facing difficulties raising the fees and levies at once or those with more than one child in school. Now if the schools demand that everything be paid upfront before a child is allowed into class, they are making life difficult for parents and guardians.

The Zimbabwean economy, although it has slightly recovered from a decade-long illegal economic embargo imposed by the West, is still wobbling. Most companies are still operating at way below their normal capacities and a good number of parents or guardians are employed by these struggling businesses. In Bulawayo a lot of companies have closed, some are still closing while others have relocated to Harare and other parts of the country. This has left thousands of parents and guardians jobless.

The retrenched workers are eking out a living in the informal sector or relying on rentals for those who were fortunate to acquire houses. Some of the parents are civil servants who are paid salaries below the poverty datum line. We feel it is unfair on the part of the schools to expect parents faced with this kind of scenario to pay fees and levies in one instalment.

We know some parents might owe more than one term’s fees and levies. But there are those parents with good track records and these should be allowed to continue paying in instalments. Fine we understand schools need money for their operations and other related costs as pointed out by the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart.

However, Minister Coltart acknowledges that it is a problem when the schools start demanding the full payment upfront, which is exactly our argument.

“You would find that schools require funds to operate and because of the environment we are in, their only source of money are parents. The problem is when they start demanding full payment upfront which would infringe on the right of the child to access education,” Minister Coltart said. We urge schools to be compassionate and give a chance to those parents with proven track records. In the same vein we also urge parents to pay up their dues because schools need the money for their operations.

Minister Coltart’s advice for school authorities to open up and for parents to negotiate to avoid children being sent home is the route to take. “Schools cannot be allowed to collapse but at the same time we would want to urge parents to make education a priority and pay fees on time or make payment plans with the schools,” the Minister aptly put it.

The Herald

By Grace Chingoma

10 September 2012

Zimbabwe registered one of their biggest victories at Rufaro in the African Cup of Nations soccer qualifiers in a long time when they beat Angola 3-1 yester­day and what a befitting occasion it was, as our “Golden Girl” Kirsty Coventry also cheered the boys from the terraces. Coventry was part of the invited guests in the VVIP tribune, which also included the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart, and the Zimbabwean swimming icon was in the company of her boyfriend Tyrone Seward, who she engaged last month.

After the match, Coventry met the Warriors and members of their technical department as she congratulated them for a job well-done against the Angolans.

She also took time to pose for pictures with Warriors skipper Tapuwa Kapini and striker Khama Billiat.

Watching her first live soccer match, Coventry was excited with the sights and sounds of Rufaro as the fans cheered the team which scored three goals past 2006 World Cup finalists Angola.

“They (the Warriors) played so well . . . they played such a great game, very much sync with each other which I think is very important for soccer. And I was so proud to be able to watch them. They were fighting in the first half and were very nervous in the second half.
“They are great team and they will qualify (for the 2013 Nations Cup finals in South Africa). I have watched them on TV but I have never been able to come to a match so I am very excited and hon­oured that I was able to come and watch them. There were lots of people and it was so exciting,” Coventry said.

The talented swimmer said she does­n’t know much about football and does not even support any team locally or internationally. “I never really watched football when growing up and never supported a soccer team but I think after today the Warriors have made me their biggest fan. I have watched a little bit of soccer and my brother-in-law loves Manchester United so I will think about it . . . l am loyal to my family and maybe will have to support that (Manchester United).

“I follow the clubs in the local Premier League in the newspapers so it has really been nice to be able to be here (at Rufaro) and get to meet some of the players that I always hear or read about in the newspa­pers,” Coventry said. Coventry, who is enjoying a rest after participating at the recent London 2012 Olympics, says she will wave goodbye to the sport which made her famous by visiting local schools. I am just taking a rest and in the next two weeks I’m hoping to drive around Zimbabwe and visit some of the schools. I am taking the time and oppor­tunity that I have now. Driving, saying hello and thanking them for the support. I have not had the time since I came back from the Olympics,” she said.

And as wedding bells toll, Coventry says she is currently enjoying her time with her boyfriend Seward before they walk down the aisle.
“We are not too sure when is the wed­ding. We haven’t decided yet. We are tak­ing the next few months figuring out when we want to get married.

The Chronicle

10 September 2012

SCHOOLS have demanded that parents should pay full fees and levies before their children could be admitted into class.

Schools are opening today for the third term.

This has left some parents with children at boarding schools literally running around looking for money after their children were barred from boarding school buses.

Parents said schools were demanding that they pay the full fees and those who had not paid could not board school buses, which were loading children at different points in Bulawayo.

Responding to concerns raised by parents with children attending school at Matopo High School in Matobo, Sacred Heart in Esigodini and David Livingstone in Ntabazinduna that schools were demanding 100 percent payment of fees upfront, a Chronicle news crew visited different pick up points in Bulawayo where some pupils were left stranded.

At Lobengula Street, popularly known as Hamara, a number of pupils from Matopo High School were stranded after they were stopped from boarding the buses.

Their parents said they received letters from the school advising them of the development.

“Surely we wonder how they think we would be able to raise all that money at once. It is not that we do not want to pay but all we are saying is can we pay in instalments. We feel the schools should allow us to make payment plans than to bar children from going to school,” said a parent with a child who learns at Matopo High School.

A document shown to Chronicle and sent by authorities stated that no pupil would be allowed into class unless they paid fees in full.

Pupils pay $420 school fees and levy per term.

Teachers were vetting pupils before they boarded buses and those with outstanding fees or without receipts were being denied entry.

A pupil from the school almost shed tears when her luggage was offloaded from the bus because her mother had not arrived to pay the outstanding fees. She said she had paid $270 and owed the school $150 for this term.

Some parents who had paid bus fare at the school offices at Matopo Book Centre later went to re-claim it after their children failed to go to school.

“This is not fair, I am going to get my transport money back, because now I have to look for the remainder of the fees. My child owes $50 but these teachers are being arrogant. I think there is a need for us to talk about this when we go for meetings. I think we should mobilise ourselves as parents and go to the meetings to challenge this,” said a parent.

A pupil from Cyrene High School in Figtree was stopped from boarding the bus because he had forgotten receipts at home.

“I fully paid fees and my teachers have instructed me to go back home and collect the invoices which could have been sent to the school before the end of the day,” said the pupil who preferred anonymity.

A group of Form Four pupils from David Livingstone said they were sent back home after finishing holiday lessons as the school authorities told them they could not continue in class before paying this term’s fees in full.

Some schools are reportedly demanding that parents clear last term fees before they pay full amounts for this term.

“We received SMSes from the school recently that our children should not bother going to school if they have not paid full amounts. Our fear now is that our children would be removed from the register because schools are now against a child missing lessons for five consecutive days,” said a parent whose child is doing Grade Four at Milton Junior in Bulawayo.

An official from Maranatha Adventist High School in Nketa confirmed that they had sent text messages advising parents of the latest developments.

“Pupils will not be allowed into class. We sent SMSes to parents that they should get clearance on last term fees and part of payment for this term’s fees,” said the official.

Contacted for comment, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart said there was no specific Government policy on the individual schools because some were private.

“Policies vary between schools and most of the schools doing that are privately owned boarding schools and Government’s interference is limited. You would find that schools require funds to operate and because of the environment we are in, their only source of money are parents. The problem is when they start demanding full payment upfront which would infringe on the right of the child to access education,” said Minister Coltart.

He contended there was no easy solution to the issue, but said Government was trying to come up with measures to make sure schools do not overcharge parents.

“The $5 million that was allocated to the ministry by Treasury to cover non-salary expenses is too little and as long as that situation remains there is going to be a problem. Schools cannot be allowed to collapse but at the same time we would want to urge parents to make education a priority and pay fees on time or make payment plans with the schools,” said Minister Coltart.

He also appealed to school authorities to open up for parents to negotiate to avoid children being sent home.

The Chronicle

9 September 2012

Zimbabwe registered their biggest victory at Rufaro in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in a long time, when they beat Angola 3-1 and what a befitting occasion it was, as our golden girl Kirsty Coventry also cheered the boys from the terraces.

The swimming icon was one of the guests in the VVIP tribune, who also included Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart.

Coventry was in the company of her boyfriend Tyrone Seward to whom she got engaged last month.

After the match, the Olympic medallist met the Warriors and the technical bench and had a chat as she congratulated the boys and posed for pictures with skipper Tapuwa Kapini and Khama Billiat.

Watching her first live soccer match, Coventry was excited by the sights and sounds of Rufaro as the fans cheered the team which scored three goals past 2006 World Cup finalists Angola.

“They played so well and it was such a great game. They played as a team which I think is very important for soccer.

“I was so proud to be able to watch them. They were in fighting first half and very nervous in the second half.

“I am confident that they are a great team and they will qualify. I have watched them on TV but I have never been able to come to a match so I am very excited and honoured that I was able to come and watch them.

“There were lots of people and it was so exciting,” said Coventry.

The swimmer said she doesn’t know much about soccer and does not support any team locally or internationally.

“I never really supported a soccer team growing up, but I think after today the Warriors have made me their biggest fan.

“I have watched little bit of soccer and my brother-in-law loves Manchester United so I will think about it. I am loyal to my family so maybe I will have to support that.

“I follow the clubs in the Premier League through the newspaper so it has really been nice to be able to be here and get to meet some of the players that I always read about in the newspaper,” she said.

Coventry, who is enjoying a rest after participating at the recent London 2012 Olympics, says she will wave goodbye to the sport which made her famous by visiting schools.

“I am just taking a rest and in the next two weeks hoping to drive around Zimbabwe and visit some of the schools.

“I am taking the time and opportunity that I have now. Driving, saying hello and thank them for the support. I have not had the time since I came back from the Olympics,” she said.

Asked about her wedding plans, Coventry said she was enjoying time with her boyfriend before they walk down the aisle.

We are not too sure when the wedding is, we haven’t decided yet, we are taking the next few months figuring out when we want to get married.

“But at the moment we are just enjoying taking time enjoying being engaged,” said Coventry.