Minister castigates schools charging high E-learning fees

Minister of General Education has urged parents not to allow themselves to be manipulated by schools who are demanding high fees for e-learning classes because the act is against the law.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, David Mabumba said parents should not pay if they are being forced to do so because number schools have remained closed and his Ministry is grateful that learning institutions are using innovation to deliver lessons to the pupils.
Mr. Mabumba stated that while government recognizes and appreciates the efforts that many private and public schools have put in place to introduce e-learning of various types, fees that they are charging should not be comparable to conventional or traditional classroom based learning.
“Those parents I have said it several times madam and please report it correctly, those parents should not pay if they are being forced, because number one schools have remained closed, and while schools are using innovation to deliver lessons to the pupils we are very grateful, but it should not be at a cost higher than the conventional learning,” Mr. Mabumba said.
He added that charging high fees for e-learning is an additional cost on the parents because the schools are only interested in the money, further urging them to reflect and not manipulate the poor Zambians.
“Convey it the way I am saying, we recognize and appreciate the efforts that many schools have put in place, private as well as public schools to introduce E-learning of various types, however the fees that they are charging should not be comparable to conventional or traditional classroom based learning, it cannot be the same value.”
“Therefore I urge them to reflect and not to manipulate the Zambian people. I know what E-learning entails, it entails a huge responsibility on the parents,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mabumba stated that he is aware that most private schools are saying term two has opened when they do not have the authority to do so because they only want to manipulate parents by making them to pay.
He said the only person who has the mandate to reopen schools is the Republican President, hence when schools reopen, pupils are going to start from where they ended in March.
“The person who has got the mandate in terms of reopening schools is the President, nobody has madam. Schools are going to reopen whether we like it, and when they reopen children are going to start from where they ended in March.”
“But I recognize the fact most private schools are using this scheme of saying term two has opened when they don’t have number 1, that authority because they want to manipulate parents and am sorry to say this word, they want to manipulate parents by making them to pay.”
Mr. Mabumba added that if the parents do not want they should not enroll their parents because even when schools open they will go back to where they ended.
“Here is an example madam, if you have got a child in a private school and you don’t have internet at home, you don’t have a computer, is that child not going to be disadvantaged if schools open and they start where they ended with E-learning?”
“Therefore the view of the Ministry is that schools when they reopen including the ones we have reopened now, they have gone to where they ended in March. So I urge the Zambian people they should not accept to be manipulated, they should not accept the manipulation of either a private school or a government school, proclaiming terms to reopen when they have not reopened,” he emphasized.
He said according to the Education Act for 2011, Schools fees are only supposed to be paid termly, further wondering which terms those who are delivering e-learning, are using.
“The fees that they are supposed to be charged are supposed to be reasonable. My registrar has the powers to revoke the license of a particular school if they are misbehaving.”
Everyone is going tougher times, schools need to pay their teachers, they need run school operations I sympathize with them, but they should not manipulate poor Zambians,” the Minister said.
Mr. Mabumba’s comment comes in the wake of concerns by some parents that schools are forcing them into online classes for their children at very high fees and are being threatened that their children will not go to the next grade if they do not pay the required fees.

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