Grabbing private schools will be unconstitutional says Coltart

Fissures have emerged in the inclusive government over the proposed indigenisation of private schools with Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart saying no private schools should be indigenised as the Zimbabwean constitution allows religious groups and individuals to establish and maintain a school.

Coltart said schools were not set up to enrich people and to indigenise them will be unconstitutional.

He added that schools are generally run by churches or a trust and there is no shareholding to talk of.

Government is set to grab privately owned learning institutions that include crèches, primary and secondary schools.

This is contained in new regulations released last Friday.

The regulations instructs all crèches, primary, secondary and universities with an asset value of a mere $1 a year to comply with the controversial indigenisation policy.

The regulations are said to be targeted at learning institutions with multi-racial students and elite suburban private colleges.

In the recent years, private schools have been sprouting countrywide to fill the void created by government owned schools that lacked learning materials.