Education ministry must have way to encourage parents to pay fees - MP

Zaka MP Paradza Chakona has challenged the Primary and secondary Education Ministry to find a way to encourage parents to pay their childreen's schools fees as it had emerged that many were taking to long to do so.

Speaking in parliament Chikona said there is a very sound policy in education which stipulates that no child failing to pay school fees should be sent back home.

"However, in my constituency only 25% of the pupils pay school fees. Last night, I was watching television and I saw Hon. Beremauro at a school, and it was reported that only 33% of the pupils at that school pay school fees," he said.

"I would like to call upon the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to find something that they can do to encourage parents to pay school fees. There is no development in schools with a lot of hot-sitting, infrastructure dilapidation; a lot of school's roofs are blown off especially during the coming season where a lot of schools may lose roofs simply because of lack of maintenance and the only way schools can be maintained is when fees are paid, and headmasters have access to funds to maintain infrastructure as well as expanding that same infrastructure."