Schools in Manicaland are set to clash with the government as they flatly refuse to accept the recently introduced Zimbabwe gold coin – and insist on paying full fees in foreign currency.
As if that wasn’t enough, some learners this week spent grueling hours in bank queues as they were faced with alleged network challenges in local currency transactions.
Surprisingly, their counterparts who were dealing in US dollars were easily served.
Schools will open for the second semester on Tuesday.
While the new ZiG currency has been widely accepted by supermarkets and wholesalers, the same cannot be said for schools which have been somewhat skeptical of their approach to accepting fees and levies in the new currency.
Schools are openly defying government guidance that parents can pay fees for their children in a currency they can afford.
ZiG trades in a basket of currencies and is therefore a legal tender.
Investigations by the Manica Post this week revealed that most schools in Manicaland were turning away parents and guardians who wanted to pay fees and levies in the local currency on the grounds that they had not yet synchronized their transaction systems and tools with the new ZiG currency.
This was seen as a flimsy excuse to hold parents to ransom, with most fees being paid through banks whose systems were already configured and calibrated to the new currency.
In the same schools, parents who were paying in US dollars were easily served.
Some schools were saying they would only accept the new currency when they reopened – the same strategy they used during the RTGS era, hoping the official bank rate would rise.
This sad directive contrasts sharply with the dictates of the Education Act which stipulates that school fees must be paid on or before the opening of schools.
For example, at a local bank along Herbert Chitepo in Mutare, parents intending to pay school fees in local currency were forced to wait for long hours on Tuesday as officials insisted their ZiG network was down.
Boarding schools in the governorate were demanding fees and fees in foreign currency only.
Ironically, the basic food items that these boarding schools need to feed the learners are sold in ZiG at local supermarkets and wholesalers.
Director of Communications and Advocacy at the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Mr Taungana Ndoro, said the government’s position was that school fees should be paid in the local currency – ZiG – but parents were free to pay in the currency of their choice.
“As schools prepare to reopen on 7 May 2024, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education would like to emphasize an important policy regarding the payment of school fees. According to the Minister of Education Circular No. 10 of 2022, the government’s position is that school fees should be paid in local currency, which is referred to as Now as ZiG.
“It is imperative to note that no school should force parents to pay fees or fees exclusively in foreign currency as Zimbabwe operates under a multi-currency system. Parents are free to pay in the currency of their choice.
In cases where fees are pegged to foreign currency for value preservation purposes, parents can make their payments in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate on the day of the transaction.
“This ensures that fees are converted appropriately into any currency equivalent. “The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education emphasizes adherence to this policy to ensure fairness and flexibility in payment of fees for all parents and guardians,” said Mr Ndoro, Manica Post.
