Zimbabwe Okays Payment of School Fees with Goats

owing to the economic realities in Zimbabwe, students who can't afford cash payment for school fees have been mandated to pay in kind.

 

File Photo

 

The government of Zimababwe has assented to the payment of school fees by parents using livestock or labour for the schools.

 

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said over the weekend that school authorities should be flexible and not turn away pupils because their parents have no money to pay tuition fees.

 

“Our schools have to be flexible and ensure those who do not have money to pay fees can work. For example, if there is a builder in the community, he/she must be given that opportunity to work as a form of payment of tuition fees,” he told local newspaper Sunday Mail.

 

This was further elaborated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango who was quoted by the newspaper saying payment using livestock is reserved for rural areas while those in towns and cities can pay by working for the school.

 

This option raised divergent views from parents while the country’s teachers’ association called for a change in the policy.

 

“I do not think that it’s sustainable with regards to parents in urban areas … so many parents have outstanding balances. Therefore, I am trying to imagine those 1 000-plus parents coming to work at a school … Why spend time doing manual labour at a school when they can go there to look for a good job?” Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association secretary-general John Mlilo was quoted.

 

This development follows the recent tabling of a bill in parliament to direct banks to accept livestock as collateral for cash loans to informal businesses.

 

The Movable Property Security Interests bill, if passed, will allow livestock and household appliances to be acceptable as collateral after evaluation and registration by the central bank.

 

Cash shortages hit Zimbabwe last year after the government threatened to grab all foreign companies operating in the country under the Indigenisation and Empowerment Law.

 

Banks in Zimbabwe were compelled to reduce withdrawal bank limits for customers to as low as US$40 per day per individual.

 

This has led to hundreds of ordinary Zimbabweans sleeping outside banks daily to get the much need cash.

Read More

Zimbabwe Bans The Beating Of Children

Zimbabwe's High Court has outlawed corporal punishment for children both at school and in the home.

The ruling comes after a parent complained that her child in grade one, a class for six-year-olds, had deep bruises after a beating by a teacher.

Linah Pfungwa said her daughter had been punished for failing to have her reading book signed by guardians as proof she had done her homework.

The constitutional court will have to confirm the judgement.


The BBC's Shingai Nyoka in the capital, Harare, says if upheld, it would transform the way parents have disciplined their children for centuries in the southern African country.
Some parents are criticising the ruling, while rights groups says it is long overdue.

Read More

Photos: Woman Gives Birth To 'FROG' Baby In Zimbabwe

A Zimbabwean woman gave birth to a 'frog-like creature' - before being ordered to burn its corpse in front of horrified villagers.

Precious Nyathi, from the village of Gokwe, in the north west of the country, was eight months pregnant when she went into labour.

But her husband, Mr Nomore, was left baffled when the 36-year-old gave birth to 'something strange'
which resembled an amphibious creature. 
The baby later died in hospital before village elders ordered that the 'frog-like creature' be burnt in front of residents.

Nomore, 39, is quoted as saying: 'I rushed home and was shocked to see a frog … that my wife had delivered. At the hospital they confirmed she went into labour but were equally shocked.'

Despite receiving medical attention, the baby later died at Gokwe District Hospital, according to local news website, The Herald.

Shocking pictures show the tiny body lying on a piece of paper on the ground.

Mrs Nyathi later told reporters: 'I was expecting a child and this is what the heavens gave us. It's a hellish experience that will haunt me all my life.'

Read More