Illegal for schools to hire debt collectors, says Dokora

THE Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Lazarus Dokora, has said it is illegal for schools to take parents who default paying school fees to debt collectors.

In an interview on the side-lines of Global Action Week for Education commemorations held in Gwanda, Dokora said if schools decide to take the legal route to recover outstanding fees they should approach the Small Claims Court, not debt collectors.

He reiterated that no child should be excluded from school for non-payment of fees. Some schools especially in Bulawayo and Gwanda have handed defaulting parents to debt collectors to force them to pay outstanding fees.

"Which schools are doing that? That's not the proper channel and it's not done that way. No parent should be taken to debt collectors. That's not their job to do so. If the schools decide to recover money from parents they should instead go to the Small Claims Court which is part of the magistrates' courts. What those schools are doing is illegal," said Dokora.

The Minister said schools should engage parents to pay fees while their children are attending classes.

"Don't let the children even know that there's dialogue between you and their parents involving fees. Let them walk into school and learn without hindrance. No child should be excluded from school because of non-payment of fees," said the minister.