Winding queues as banks struggle with payment of school fees

The opening of schools has brought headaches in parents and school pupils who now spend better parts of their day in meandering bank queues in a bid to pay tuition fees.

Parents who spoke to Bulawayo24.com in Mvurwi said cash crises has brought untold suffering to them and  schools are sending pupils back home to collect fees despite the Ministry of Education's strong warning against sending pupils back home to collect fees.

"We are in serious trouble with these queues l have been here since 4am and this is now 11am l am still outside the fence of the bank with my school l kids waiting for the deposit slip demanded at school," lamented Chigulupane.

Another civil servant parent who declined to be named for professional reasons said they are now spending most of their time in queues than their work places because government is failing to provide enough cash.

"It is disheartening to note that we are spending most our time in banks than our work place, this government has failed  we no longer have pay dates l should have paid my children's fees long back but l received my salary long overdue," fumed the source.

The government has directed schools to acquire point of sale machines to facilitate smooth payment of fees with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe putting in place modalities to avail the machines as schools opened for the first term on Tuesday especially to urban schools.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora last week said arraignments had been made with the (RBZ) to ensure schools could use swipe machines.