An elite private school in Masvingo has shocked the country after it hiked its school fees for the 3rd of 2019, to ZWL$35 000 per term.

In a letter to parents, Riverton Academy said that the move had been necessitated by the introduction of Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019, which abolished the multicurrency system and established the Zimbabwe Dollar as the sole legal tender.

The letter to parents reads:

Dear Parent,s/IGuardiatifs, RE: TERM 3 2019 AND AUGUST VACATION FEES

In view of Statutory Instrument (SI) 42 of 2019 in which the Zimbabwean dollar was made the sole legal tender in any transaction in Zimbabwe. Riverton Academy has revised the school fees for Term 3, 2019. The increase in the prices of most provisions for the dining hall, hostels, fuels and the quest by the Academy to maintain high educational standards of its products and services makes it unavoidable to increase school fees for Tenn 3. These developments are outside the control of the school and as a result. the Academy has set the school fees for Term 3, 2019 as shown in the table below:
LEVEL
1. SECONDARY SCHOOL BOARDERS – ZWLS35 000.00 
2. PRIMARY SCHOOL BORDERS – ZWLS26 500.00 
3. PRIMARY SCHOOL DAY SCHOLARS – ZWLS 9 000.00 
4. ECD – ZWLS 5 500.00