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School demands maize, chicken as fees
Ronny Zikhali, AfricaNews
May 29, 2009

http://www.africanews.com/site/Zim_School_demands_maize_chicken_as_fees/list_messages/25115

Disgruntled parents of Sojini Secondary school in South West Zimbabwe have expressed their anger towards the headmaster of the school whom they accuse of trying to milk them dry by demanding outrageous fees structures.

Some of the parents revealed to AfricaNews that the school which is located in Mbembesi rural district, was demanding 10 and 16 buckets of maize plus some chickens for O and A' level students respectively.

"The school is demanding outrageous amounts of maize as an alternative to cash which most of us cannot raise. How can I pay 36 buckets of maize since I have three children in that school?" demanded an outraged parent.

In a telephone interview with the headmaster on Friday, he said that it was suggested in a meeting with parents that an alternative to paying in cash be made thus coming up with those items.

"These people who are complaining do not know what they are talking about as it was discussed at a meeting. I will come to your offices tomorrow to explain our position," said Nkala.

However in a follow up interview on Saturday the head refused to comment saying that it was against the principles of the ministry to talk to the press and that we should talk to the regional director.

Sources close to this paper revealed that fees had been pegged at R500 for Form 1-4 and R800 for A' level students.

They said that most parents could not raise that much and had appealed to the school to bear with them and give them time.

The parents said what angered them the most is that the headmaster was chasing away students who had not paid fees in full. They said on Tuesday the school was empty as most of the pupils hadn't paid.

"When I went to the school on Tuesday, there was no one, all the students had been told to go back home and not to come back till they paid in full," said a parent who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In an interview with the School Development Comitee Chair lady, Mrs Lilian Nombembe said that her committee was not aware of such a development but had actually heard it from one of the parents.

She said that she had been planning to go and see the head on Monday to discuss the issue.

"It is illegal to make people pay with maize because the school consists of classrooms and teachers cottages, we do not have storage for maize and were will they get a market for it inorder to raise cash?" asked Nombembe.

The Chairlady said that if such a decision was reached, she was not aware of it as they were not notified.

A parent identified as MaSibanda confirmed that the school was demanding maize, beans, indumba and groundnuts depending on what one had.

"How can we waste resources like that after the hunger that we have been in? Even a single bucket is too much because we have worked hard for this harvest. This is not something to take lightly and as parents we are totally against it," concluded MaSibanda.

One parent who refused to be named said the head was known for his shady deals and eversince he came to Sonjinji a lot had happened. She said that even when he left Ntabazinduna it was on unclear circumstances.

"We do not trust the headmaster because there are certain things that take place in this school that we do not understand. He was the headmaster at Ntabazinduna and he left in unclear circumstances," she said.

A lot of parents have been complaining about the going ons at most schools citing that they are being short changed and that most schools are going against the government's directive of reducing fees.

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