Council to sue parents for outstanding fees

News
THE Bulawayo City Council has resolved to immediately engage debt collectors and sue debtors in an effort to recover outstanding fees from parents and guardians of Grade 7 pupils attending its schools, fearing that the pupils might disappear without paying after examinations.

THE Bulawayo City Council has resolved to immediately engage debt collectors and sue debtors in an effort to recover outstanding fees from parents and guardians of Grade 7 pupils attending its schools, fearing that the pupils might disappear without paying after examinations. CHIEF REPORTER Grade 7 examinations are set to begin today countrywide.

The local authority is owed thousands of dollars in levies and unpaid fees and says most parents had stopped paying fees, taking advantage of a government directive that no pupil should be sent away from school due to non-payment.

According to a latest council report on the Health, Housing and Education Committee, the local authority has an enrolment of 37 393 pupils, including the Early Childhood Development in its schools.

“Total fees paid amounted to $49 5242, while the amount owed for the current and previous terms was $733 495,50,” reads the report.

“This implied that the majority of parents did not pay second term fees for their children.

“The trend was worrisome, as payments seemed to be steadily made in the previous years.

“Funds paid for Beam (Basic Education Assistance Module) pupils were $36 420 for tuition fees and $36 605 for Parent Teacher Association (PTA) levies.”

The report said nine schools had not yet received any payments from Beam pupils for the first and second terms.

“These amounted to $27 960 for tuition and $27 120 for PTA levies.

“It was hoped that these would be cleared before the commencement of the third term.

“It would be recalled that government’s stance was that no pupil would be sent away from school for non-payment of fees, but that schools could sue the parents or guardians of such pupils.

“Most parents had taken advantage of this directive and ceased paying fees until their children complete their primary education.

“Because of the amount currently owed to council schools, it would be prudent for council to start suing so as to induce payments,” the report continues.

It was proposed that council allow schools to engage debt collectors immediately so that parents, particularly parents of Grade 7 pupils, paid before they finished the year-end examinations.

The proposal was adopted.