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Teachers charging for extra lessons practising corruption
2 hrs ago |
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The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has warned that teachers who demand payment for extra lessons are engaging in outright corruption and risk both disciplinary action and criminal prosecution.
The ministry also stressed that public schools are not allowed to force parents to buy uniforms from schools, saying the practice violates parents' freedom of choice and is illegal.
The remarks were made by the ministry's Director of Communications and Advocacy, Taungana Ndoro, as he outlined government reporting and complaints-handling mechanisms amid rising concerns from parents over corruption in schools. The complaints involve not only teachers, but also headmasters and School Development Committees (SDCs).
Ndoro said teachers who charge learners for extra lessons are abusing the authority of their public office, despite already being paid salaries by the government.
"This is corruption in public office. The office of a teacher is the classroom. If that teacher is in that classroom and uses the power and authority within him or her to abuse that platform, to say, ‘parent, give me money so that I can teach your child,' a job which you are already being paid for by government, then you are corrupt and you are supposed to be put to task," Ndoro said during a recent meeting in Bulawayo.
His comments come against a backdrop of persistent complaints from parents, many of whom say they fear raising concerns during school meetings because of possible victimisation of their children by teachers or school authorities.
Parents have reported that several schools in Bulawayo and surrounding districts are charging for extra lessons, which they say have increasingly become informal "pay-to-learn" schemes. Some teachers are allegedly threatening to neglect learners who do not pay.
Ndoro urged parents to use established reporting channels when they suspect wrongdoing, starting at the lowest level.
"The reporting mechanism or complaints handling in the ministry, if you are a parent and feel something is amiss at the school, the first port of call, depending on the magnitude, is the class teacher, that is if it has to do with your child," he said.
Using extra lessons as an example, Ndoro said parents are entitled to question the charges being imposed.
"On extra lessons, for instance, the parent may ask why they have to pay US$20 or US$10 a month or a week," he said. "You ask the teacher, and the teacher has to respond to you, and that response becomes the basis for further complaints."
Ndoro dismissed common justifications by teachers who argue that extra lessons help struggling learners or supplement low salaries.
"If the teacher says, ‘I'm not earning enough and I'm trying to supplement,' that is corruption," he said.
"It's just like an immigration officer who stamps your passport and asks for US$50. Or a ZIMRA officer who asks for something after discovering goods that have not paid duty. They are abusing public office. It's the same with teachers."
He warned that offenders could face charges under both public service regulations and criminal law.
"It's a case for which you can face two offenses. One, through the public service regulations and two, through the criminal law and codification acts. You go to court and can end up behind bars just for asking US$10 from every child, trying to enrich yourself," Ndoro said.
"If you are that smart, why don't you leave that classroom and form your own school?"
Ndoro said unresolved issues should be escalated to school heads, whom he described as the "CEOs" of their institutions.
"The head represents the permanent secretary, the minister, and in some cases even the President," he said. "When something happens at a school, we go straight to the head and ask, ‘What happened?' because accountability starts there."
However, he acknowledged weaknesses in the system, noting that some headmasters and district officials allegedly collude in corrupt practices.
"We have challenges where some district school inspectors work hand-in-hand in cahoots with some heads of schools," Ndoro said.
"You may find a head giving crates of eggs, chickens or whatever every week to the district school inspectors who then cannot investigate."
He said parents should then escalate complaints to provincial offices, which he described as more independent, and ultimately to head office if necessary.
"It's very unlikely that the province would be corrupted because for instance in Matabeleland South, the provincial office is in Gwanda. When you send someone from Gwanda to Mangwe, there may not be any linkages," he said.
"If that fails, because it does fail at times, that's when you come to the head office. The permanent secretary, normally, is the final decision maker in those cases. Beyond that, you take us to court."
Beyond extra lessons, Ndoro also addressed complaints about schools forcing parents to buy uniforms from the institution as a condition for enrolment, describing the practice as unlawful.
"There was talk of schools saying for Form One or Lower Six, purchase uniforms to be guaranteed a place," he said, citing Thekwane High School as a case currently under investigation.
"The minister announced it on television: no school is allowed to force parents to buy uniforms at that school," Ndoro said.
He said parents are free to buy uniforms from any supplier, provided colour codes are followed.
"The moment a school starts commercial ventures, whether uniforms, chickens, tomatoes, it announces itself as being in competition with the market," he said.
"But competition does not mean monopoly, you cannot force parents."
Ndoro said schools that compel parents to buy uniforms or stationery from them are acting unlawfully.
"If a blazer is US$35 in the market and US$45 at school, parents will go to the market," he said. "You don't need to force them."
He urged parents to report such cases through official channels "so that parents do not suffer in silence."
Ndoro clarified that while the ministry's uniform policy primarily applies to public schools, private schools operate under contractual arrangements with parents.
"When you send your child to a non-government school, you have made your choice to say that you want education that is provided outside the public system," he said.
However, he noted that private schools remain subject to ministry oversight in areas such as fee approvals and travel clearances.
The ministry also stressed that public schools are not allowed to force parents to buy uniforms from schools, saying the practice violates parents' freedom of choice and is illegal.
The remarks were made by the ministry's Director of Communications and Advocacy, Taungana Ndoro, as he outlined government reporting and complaints-handling mechanisms amid rising concerns from parents over corruption in schools. The complaints involve not only teachers, but also headmasters and School Development Committees (SDCs).
Ndoro said teachers who charge learners for extra lessons are abusing the authority of their public office, despite already being paid salaries by the government.
"This is corruption in public office. The office of a teacher is the classroom. If that teacher is in that classroom and uses the power and authority within him or her to abuse that platform, to say, ‘parent, give me money so that I can teach your child,' a job which you are already being paid for by government, then you are corrupt and you are supposed to be put to task," Ndoro said during a recent meeting in Bulawayo.
His comments come against a backdrop of persistent complaints from parents, many of whom say they fear raising concerns during school meetings because of possible victimisation of their children by teachers or school authorities.
Parents have reported that several schools in Bulawayo and surrounding districts are charging for extra lessons, which they say have increasingly become informal "pay-to-learn" schemes. Some teachers are allegedly threatening to neglect learners who do not pay.
Ndoro urged parents to use established reporting channels when they suspect wrongdoing, starting at the lowest level.
"The reporting mechanism or complaints handling in the ministry, if you are a parent and feel something is amiss at the school, the first port of call, depending on the magnitude, is the class teacher, that is if it has to do with your child," he said.
Using extra lessons as an example, Ndoro said parents are entitled to question the charges being imposed.
"On extra lessons, for instance, the parent may ask why they have to pay US$20 or US$10 a month or a week," he said. "You ask the teacher, and the teacher has to respond to you, and that response becomes the basis for further complaints."
Ndoro dismissed common justifications by teachers who argue that extra lessons help struggling learners or supplement low salaries.
"If the teacher says, ‘I'm not earning enough and I'm trying to supplement,' that is corruption," he said.
"It's just like an immigration officer who stamps your passport and asks for US$50. Or a ZIMRA officer who asks for something after discovering goods that have not paid duty. They are abusing public office. It's the same with teachers."
He warned that offenders could face charges under both public service regulations and criminal law.
"It's a case for which you can face two offenses. One, through the public service regulations and two, through the criminal law and codification acts. You go to court and can end up behind bars just for asking US$10 from every child, trying to enrich yourself," Ndoro said.
"If you are that smart, why don't you leave that classroom and form your own school?"
Ndoro said unresolved issues should be escalated to school heads, whom he described as the "CEOs" of their institutions.
However, he acknowledged weaknesses in the system, noting that some headmasters and district officials allegedly collude in corrupt practices.
"We have challenges where some district school inspectors work hand-in-hand in cahoots with some heads of schools," Ndoro said.
"You may find a head giving crates of eggs, chickens or whatever every week to the district school inspectors who then cannot investigate."
He said parents should then escalate complaints to provincial offices, which he described as more independent, and ultimately to head office if necessary.
"It's very unlikely that the province would be corrupted because for instance in Matabeleland South, the provincial office is in Gwanda. When you send someone from Gwanda to Mangwe, there may not be any linkages," he said.
"If that fails, because it does fail at times, that's when you come to the head office. The permanent secretary, normally, is the final decision maker in those cases. Beyond that, you take us to court."
Beyond extra lessons, Ndoro also addressed complaints about schools forcing parents to buy uniforms from the institution as a condition for enrolment, describing the practice as unlawful.
"There was talk of schools saying for Form One or Lower Six, purchase uniforms to be guaranteed a place," he said, citing Thekwane High School as a case currently under investigation.
"The minister announced it on television: no school is allowed to force parents to buy uniforms at that school," Ndoro said.
He said parents are free to buy uniforms from any supplier, provided colour codes are followed.
"The moment a school starts commercial ventures, whether uniforms, chickens, tomatoes, it announces itself as being in competition with the market," he said.
"But competition does not mean monopoly, you cannot force parents."
Ndoro said schools that compel parents to buy uniforms or stationery from them are acting unlawfully.
"If a blazer is US$35 in the market and US$45 at school, parents will go to the market," he said. "You don't need to force them."
He urged parents to report such cases through official channels "so that parents do not suffer in silence."
Ndoro clarified that while the ministry's uniform policy primarily applies to public schools, private schools operate under contractual arrangements with parents.
"When you send your child to a non-government school, you have made your choice to say that you want education that is provided outside the public system," he said.
However, he noted that private schools remain subject to ministry oversight in areas such as fee approvals and travel clearances.
Source - Cite
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