Boarding schools free to chase away non paid up pupils - Dokora

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora reportedly told the Zimbabwe Teachers' Association annual conference  in Victoria Falls last week that boarding schools can bar pupils from entering their premises if they have not paid fees for the term.

The minister said the policy excluded day schools and only boarding schools were mandated to exclude pupils as they require the money for their day-to-day operations.

Some boarding schools were yesterday turning away pupils for non-payment of fees ahead of today's opening of the second school term.

In Bulawayo, pupils with no proof of payment were being turned away from buses transporting them from the City Hall car park to their respective schools.

Some schools wanted pupils to have paid at least three quarters of the fees, with pupils being admitted on condition that their parents would have signed affidavits stating that the remaining fees would be paid by month-end.

Some parents said the ongoing cash shortage and the late payment of salaries by some companies were making it difficult for them to settle arrears.