Source: Govt To Extend ZIMSEC Exam Fee Subsidy To Private Schools “Once Resources Allow” ⋆ Pindula News
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo has said the Government will consider extending the subsidy on examination fees to private schools once resources allow.
He said some learners are enrolled in private schools because there are no public schools in their area.
Speaking during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly recently, Moyo said the decision to limit subsidies to Government schools was informed by national strategic priorities and the availability of financial resources.
He was responding to St Mary’s MP Brighton Mazhindu (CCC), who had asked him to justify the exclusion of learners in private schools from subsidised examination fees.
Mazhindu said some learners attended private schools not by choice, but because of limited capacity in public schools, while some settlements had no public schools at all, forcing parents to send their children to privately-run learning centres.
In response, Moyo said it remained Government policy not to exclude anyone, but other factors had forced the current position.
“It is the Ministry’s policy that all learners in the school system should be considered in all decision-making under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,” said Moyo.
“However, the ministry’s policy to exclude private school learners from subsidised ZIMSEC examination fees is primarily based on strategic priorities and limited fiscal resources.
“The Ministry acknowledges that infrastructure capacity deficits force some learners to attend private colleges.
“Public education funding models require strict differentiation between commercial, profit-driven entities and state-assisted institutions.
“For these reasons, our priority is, therefore, the less privileged, so that no one or no place is left behind.”
Moyo said families with limited means tended to send their children to Government schools, whereas affluent families opted for expensive private schools.
“I may also want to add that it is standard practice for those from lower classes to send their children to public schools,” he added.
“Even in Western countries, private schools are for the rich, which is why the Government has decided to give a 55 per cent exemption for ZIMSEC examinations, and that is why private candidates are not given this subsidy.
“They are not beneficiaries of the 55 per cent subsidy that is given to those attending public schools.”
Zengeza West MP Innocent Zvaipa (CCC) said some areas had no Government schools, which often forced parents to enrol their children at private schools.
He said the exclusion of private schools from the subsidy prejudiced learners whose presence at private schools was unavoidable.
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