Dear Editor
It seems things are not well at All Souls Mission School in Mutoko District, Mashonaland East Province and Government through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should move in immediately to put the situation in order.
The school authorities are now bowing to the School Development Committee (SDC) who are now running the school like their personal tuckshop. Resolutions are now passed without proper consultations with the stakeholders who are the parents of the children at the school.
School fees are being hiked overnight in the pretext that there were approved by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. The SDC smuggle officials from the education ministry and declare that fees were approved by the same officials without the consent of the parents and no documents of approval from the same ministry are shown to the effect.
The recent hike of fees from about $2000 Zimbabwe dollars to $7000 Zimbabwe dollars has raised eyebrows for parents and many feel the decision was done without proper consultation and cannot fit in the recent announcement by the government that fees should not go beyond an increase above the range of 20 percent.
“Schools should not increase fees by more than 20 percent without Government approval, while charging in foreign currency is illegal.
It is also an offence for schools to sell uniforms or force parents to buy them at selected stores, Acting Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Kirsty Coventry has said.
This followed a request by legislator, Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, for the ministry to comment on issues ranging from fees and also the 2019 Grade Seven results, among others.
Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga is the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education.
The increase in fees by All Souls High is being spearheaded by the SDC led by the Chairperson, Ms Wadzanayi Kanyuchi who has been using the back door to snub the parents a proper meeting.
Minister Coventry said fees increases should be agreed upon by parents during properly-constituted meetings.
“Our fees currently should comply with Statutory Instrument 121 of 2019 where pricing is done in local currency and this does not give room for rating fees according to the prevailing bank rate since all fees are in local currency.
“Application for fees increases should be below 20 percent increase and any other increases should be approved by the head of the ministry as directed in the Secretaries Circular Minute Number 6 of 2018.”
Some school which are better than All Souls have not increased boarding fees to that much, the SDC should work in unison with parents.
Parents who spoke to this writer said there are short changed with the SDC at All Souls School.
“The SDC is no-longer representing the grievances of the parents and we have lost trust in them whether they represent parents or there are doing it for their own benefit we don’t know.
“The SDC should be realistic you can’t jump from $2000 to more than $7000, how did they come to conclude such a figure, we deserve a decent pricing on the school fees.
“We are appealing to one of the administrators, Father Aaron Kamusekere to help us, it seems the school is under siege from the crop of committees who are not considerate. We suspect the current committee is concerned about making money of their own, taking advantage of the current economic situation to squeeze parents”, said one of the parents who preferred not to be published.
Another one who preferred to be identified as Mr Carlos, said the SDC are supposed to step down this December, and parents feel that Ms Kanyuchi and company are running the school SDC with a ‘we don’t care attitude’ and the question ticking in our minds is to fulfil whose motive?
Previous reports indicate that when Ms Kanyuchi was also a Chairperson at Chishawasha Primary school, she had some brushes with the school community when she played the same modus operandi of passing decisions without following proper route, many questioned her way of doing things.
“All my children did their education at All Souls School, it is my first time to witness and hear that decisions are passed by the SDC without full consultation with the parents and also a proper quorum,” another parent queried.
Also through an All Souls School WhatsApp group alleged reports are that Ms Kanyuchi used the platform to insult parents telling them to remove their children and find other schools if they feel that her decision as a chairperson was in bad taste adding that she had powers to decide on any matter without listening to anyone.
Whether consultation were done or not, parents feel, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should approach and investigate the Roman Catholic school for such mischievous that was going on for long now under the nose of the education authorities and nip it in the bud.
Minister Coventry said it was also illegal for schools to sell uniforms or compel parents to buy from selected stores.
“A circular was issued that outlawed the purchase of uniforms only at school level. Parents can buy uniforms anywhere to the best of their advantage and can even make them for themselves.
“Schools are not allowed to coerce parents to purchase uniforms at their schools,” Minister Coventry added.
Most schools have resorted to selling uniforms, usually at exorbitant prices as part of fundraising initiatives, although parents argue that some administrators use this to enrich themselves.
Efforts to contact the school Head Mr Shoko (on number supplied) concerning the issue were fruitless while the one for Father Kamusekere was not picked.