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ZIMBABWE: Thousands affected as authorities close private schools
IRIN News
May 05, 2004

HARARE - About 30,000 pupils in Zimbabwe have been affected by the government's decision to close private schools after accusing them of increasing fees without state approval.

Armed police officers were deployed to 45 private schools throughout the country to ensure that they did not open for classes on Tuesday.

Boarders at some schools were turned away when they arrived for the new school term and those who had moved in during the weekend had to be taken home by their parents yesterday.

Zimbabwe police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told IRIN that the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture had furnished the police with a list of schools that had not conformed to its requirements for fee increases.

The Education Act, which governs the operation of schools, stipulates that no responsible authority of a non-government school may charge a fee or increase a fee by more than the prescribed amount without seeking approval from the Secretary of Education.

The maximum increase allowed without obtaining prior approval is 10 percent a year, but most private schools have disregarded this regulation, arguing that the percentage falls far short of the cost of providing education and maintaining school facilities.

Inflation in Zimbabwe has hovered around 600 percent as the country's economic crisis pushes up prices for goods and services.

By yesterday evening some private schools in the capital, Harare, had heeded the call not to reopen until they came to an agreement with government over the fees and levies to be charged, but others opened their doors and boarders could be seen settling in after police officers had left the premises.

There was some confusion at schools visited by IRIN on Wednesday, as some parents were dropping their children off while others were taking them back home.

The chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on education, Fidelis Mhashu, said the school closures were "contrary to the spirit of education".

"Under no circumstances should a school be stopped from functioning. Even if an institution is affected by a natural phenomenon, like wind that blows off the school's roof, children must be allowed to learn from under a tree," said Mhashu. "Solutions must be found, and one of them is to increase the per capita grant from the government, which is inadequate at the moment."

Many parents who spoke to IRIN said they should have the right to pay for the facilities offered by the schools, and argued that they had agreed to the increases and saw no reason why they should not be allowed to pay.

Others said the situation was unfair and lessons should continue while the issue was being resolved. "We have already paid the fees and levies being demanded. So what happens to our money now?" asked Dorothy Chirere, one of the parents affected by school closures in Harare.

Although the government stated at the beginning of the year that schools should not raise fees and levies without its written approval, some private as well as public schools increased their fees.

Minister of Education Aeneas Chigwedere remained adamant that the schools would not reopen until they complied with the government regulation, but regretted that pupils would miss lessons.

The closure of the private schools at the beginning of the second term follows the suspension of 92 school heads last term over the same issue.

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