Rural Schools Go Against Dokora Directive

Published: 2016 June 15 06:09:40 (5639 Views)

SCHOOLS in Mangwe District have defied a government directive not to engage debt collectors to force parents to pay school fees for their children.

Schools that include Bhulu Primary School and Kweneng Primary School in Mphoengs Ward have unleashed debt collectors who are attaching property belonging to villagers.

Mangwe MP Cde Obedingwa Mguni, said some villagers have lost their livestock to the debt collectors.

“I met villagers and they were complaining that debt collectors from Bhulu Primary and Kweneng Primary have invaded their homes. Some villagers have lost their properties and livestock in the process.

‘’To make matters worse these debt collectors have an extra charge which they add onto the initial debt. This is inappropriate because in the first place villagers will be struggling to raise the initial debt,’’ said Cde Mguni.

He said villagers also complained that some of the property that was taken belong to relatives working outside the country.

Cde Mguni said the move was against government policy.

Bhulu Primary School development committee chairperson, Rachael Moyo said the debt collectors were engaged following a general meeting that was held last month on school fees arrears.

She said the debt collectors started moving around homesteads last week on Monday.

“The school first held a meeting with the traditional leadership of the community and then another meeting was held with parents. The school consulted these stakeholders and they agreed that debt collectors had to be sent to owing parents,’’ said Moyo.

She said the school had resorted to engaging debt collectors as a number of parents were not paying fees.

Mangwe District Education Officer, Headman Mpofu said schools were supposed to engage the Small Claims Court in order to deal with parents over unpaid school fees. He said remote schools, however, found it difficult to follow this route due to their geographic location, but advised them to engage traditional leaders.

Recently, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Lazarus Dokora said it was illegal for schools to engage debt collectors. He said if schools decided to take the legal route to collect outstanding fees they had to approach the Small Claims Court.

- Chronicle