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A Harare school has engaged the services of debt collectors to force parents to pay up outstanding school fees in a move that could see defaulting parents losing household property and other valuables.
In a letter to parents seen by Zim Morning Post, Courtney Selous Primary School said it had resolved that “all parents with outstanding balances of $300 and above should be handed over to the lawyers for debt collection.”
The school further said “parents with balances of $300 and above are advised to pay up or approach the school with a payment plan before 31/03/2019.”
Parents who spoke to Zim Morning Post on condition of anonymity fearing reprisals were concerned that the school’s move to engage debt collectors would further burden long suffering parents as the extra charges would be passed on to them.
“The school has set April 9 as Consultation Day but parents whose children owed money had been advised that they would not be entertained,” said a parent who declined to be named.
Government has said no child should be excluded from school for non-payment of fees.
However, non-payment of fees by parents has led to huge resource constraints in schools and affected the ability of the schools to perform well.
Government last year said it would begin offering free basic education in line with the Constitution that provides that learners from Grade One to Seven should have their education funded by the state but with 2019 nearing an end free basic education remains a dream.
