Pupils to start paying exam fees in Grade 5

PUPILS will start paying for Grade Seven examinations when they are in Grade Five, a move which Government says is meant to reduce the number of pupils whose parents and guardians fail to raise the examination fees.

The move comes against the backdrop of reports that 37 percent of children are being forced to drop out of school due to financial constraints. Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Professor Paul Mavhima said they wanted to ensure that they reduce the number of drop outs as a result of lack of money to pay the examination fees. He said through the scheme parents could pay the fees from when their children are in Grade Five.

"The idea is to reduce the burden on the parents so that they do not find themselves paying the required $3 per subject when the pupil is in Grade Seven. They can pay a dollar per year until the pupil is ready to write the examination.

"What happens is that when parents pay the amount, the money is then ring fenced in an account and only becomes payable to Zimsec as an examination fee in the year in which the child is going to write," said Prof Mavhima.

He, however, emphasised that there should be no confusion to the effect that Grade Five and Six were now examination classes, noting that it was just a facility meant to assist parents in the payment of the examination fees.

"Some circles have confused this facility as to mean that Grade Fives and Sixes are now examination classes. The answer is no! The money paid by parents will only be payable to Zimsec in the year that the learner is now in Grade Seven.

"We, however, call on parents to take advantage of this facility to ensure that we reduce the number of school drop outs as a result of the unavailability of examination fees," said the Deputy Minister.

He said what parents should always keep in mind was that education is a right to every child hence the various efforts being set in motion to ensure that this comes to fruition.

According to the latest Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee report for this year Mangwe district is ranked second with 39 percent of its school-going children having dropped out of school. Mudzi district in Mashonaland East province, at 42 percent, is the district with the highest number of school drop outs. The proportion of children who are not in school is lowest in Mhondoro-Ngezi (Mashonaland West) and Chirumanzu (Midlands) at 13 percent each.