THE ministry of education and training is currently working on a proposal to raise funds for funding education, which could see school fees being scrapped completely.
Principal Secretary (PS) Naniki Mnisi explained that this could either come as a levy imposed on parents or mandatory contribution drawn from the salaries of all employed individuals towards the funding of education, which she described as an ‘education tariff’.
She said this could go a long way towards solving the financial problems dogging the country’s education system like arbitrary school fee hikes from school administrators, charging of unregulated fees or even non-payment of school fees by dodgy or irresponsible parents.
“The solution to all education issues around finances is an education tariff. We will make an adequate request through the right channels to Cabinet, and then Parliament,” she said.
The ministry is planning to bring in the regulation once they are done with the preliminary planning stages preceding selling the idea to Cabinet and ultimately bringing it to Parliament for final approval. Mnisi said the proposed law would check arbitrary fee hikes by school administrators and further cushion vulnerable children against the uncertainty engendered by parents who often renege from their promises to pay school fees.
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The move comes after outcries over inconsistencies in the charging of school fees across the country’s schooling system, as well as complaints from school administrators who encounter challenges in running schools given similar inconsistencies from parents towards the payment of school fees.
The proposed law could either regulate fees charged by schools or ultimately abolish the payment of school fees, which could be funded from a mandatory contribution to be drawn from salaries of all employed individuals.
PS Mnisi said they were still trying to process the regulations, indicating that they were likely to settle for the latter, where a mandatory contribution would be sought from taxpayers towards the funding of education. According to a senior official, the ministry is consulting all stakeholders and trying to build a consensus before the move is implemented.
“There is a committee that has been put in place by the ministry to work on the spadework. The ministry is having internal discussions on this. It is also reaching out to relevant stakeholders for consensus,” said the senior official.
Interviewed parents welcomed the idea.
“But we will have to wait and see if its implementation works for everyone,” said a curious parent.
When you say a mandatory tarrif would be be deducted from all working individuals, does this mean the burden to pay school is now going to be carried by the working class only? This means it’s not true that school fees would be scrapped but it’s that the burden would be shifted.