Moriku Kaducu, the Minister of State for Primary Education, has explained that existing legal provisions do not furnish the government with adequate powers to punish schools charging exorbitant fees.
This admission comes amidst the backdrop of several circulars and guidelines issued to schools regarding their fee structures, which have often been disregarded by school administrators.
During plenary on Wednesday, Minister Kaducu revealed to MPs that there are deficiencies within the statutory instruments and regulatory framework, attributing the challenge to the absence of robust legal mechanisms.
She highlighted the Ministry of Education’s efforts to address this issue by presenting a framework paper aimed at regulating fee structures and subsequently drafting statutory instruments.
“The law has some gaps in terms of statutory instruments and regulatory framework and that is why when the Ministry of Education took the framework paper for regulating such that we eventually get the statutory instrument,” said Kaducu.
Minister Kaducu stressed the government’s stance on fee adjustments, stating, “No school, Private or Government, shall increase school fees for whatever reason without written authorization from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Sports and/or Chief Administrative Officer/Town Clerk as the case may be.”
Furthermore, the Minister outlined additional measures aimed at curbing financial burdens on parents.
“Schools are prohibited from imposing cash or non-cash requirements outside the approved fee structure. Additionally, all non-cash items must be accounted for within the school budget to prevent arbitrary financial burdens on parents.” she explained
In a bid to mitigate cost drivers in public schools, Minister Moriku emphasized the prohibition of hiring teachers whose positions are not provided for on the government payroll saying this seeks to streamline expenditures and alleviate the financial strain on public school budgets.
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