By SANFROSSA MANYINDA and KETRA KALUNGA
GOVERNMENT has clarified that pupils will not pay school fees as they report this Thursday.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of General Education Jobicks Kalumba said according to the current school calendar, term two is expected to run upto September 27, 2021.
Dr Kalumba said parents were only expected to pay school fees from September 28 when schools open for the third term which he said would run upto December 10, 2021.
He said no school, whether private or government would be expected to ask for school fees from parents because they were still in the second term.
Dr Kalumba was speaking during a joint Covid-19 update with Permanent Secretaries in the Ministries of information and Health as well the office of the Vice President.
” This does not only apply to government schools but private schools as well. Private school owners should cooperate with the provisions of the ministry.
” Let us not make it difficult for children to access education. It is not necessary to make parents pay when term two school fees are still valid,” Dr Kalumba said.
And Ministry of Information Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga pleaded with non-governmental organizations, parents, teachers and the learners to cooperate and look beyond the obvious.
Mr Malupenga said the measures put in place were not meant to punish anyone but to help learners be in school for their own good.
He said NGO’s should learn to tell the truth and avoid misleading the nation by issuing statements without having facts on the ground.
Meanwhile, the country recorded 633 new Covid-19 positive cases out of 5510 tests conducted in the the last 24 hours.
Ten Covid-19 related deaths were recorded with 39 recoveries.
Meanwhile, the National Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) has opposed Government’s decision to reopen schools tomorrow, describing the move as a mission impossible.
NAQEZ executive director, Aaron Chansa, said even if schools are to reopen this week, teaching would be impossible because more than 95 percent of teachers would be involved in various electoral processes.
Mr. Chansa said in a statement that while it was important for schools to reopen, the reopening should not ignore social, electoral and economic realities.
He said that the reopening of schools must be systematic and consultative.
“Because of the factors mentioned above, NAQEZ opposes the reopening of schools on 5th August. The decision will not amount to any academic benefit but will only disturb parents,” he said.
Mr Chansa said the “uproar” against the development was justified because the timing was wrong.
He said instead of ambushing parents and teachers, the Ministry of General Education should consider adjusting the dates for national examinations.
He said examinations could easily be moved because they were not a constitutional matter.
Mr Chansa appealing to President Edgar Lungu to consider reopening schools after the elections.
“This announcement has come as a shock because all Zambians were preparing for schools to reopen on 16th August, at least, the latest development will undoubtedly squeeze parents economically,” he said.
