GOVT BOWS TO PRESSURE, HALTS PRIVATE SCHOOL FEES CAPPING

By Alawi Masare Dodoma. The Minister for Education, Science, Technology and Vocation Training, Prof Joyce Ndalichako, assured Parliament yesterday that the government would not enforce indicative fees for private schools, pending a consensus with school owners.
She said the government had revealed many challenges during its meeting with private school owners last month. “We’ve decided to halt the exercise until further notice,” she said.
The minister was speaking when winding up the ministry’s budget estimates for 2016/17 financial year.
Members of Parliament were up in arms over the government’s plan to set the indicative fees for private schools, saying lower charges would not help to solve challenges facing the education sector in the country.
Most of the MPs, who contributed to the ministry’s budget estimates said lower rates would only favour well to do people who took their children to private schools and heavily affect those who had invested in the service provision.
At least 10 MPs had to declare interest, for they own private schools in the country. According to the MPs, the only way out was for public schools to offer quality education in a bid to attract parents who preferred private schools.
“Indicative private school fees will end up easing life to well-off families which take their children there….and in that way, we should forget to see them using public schools,” said Mr Mashimba Ndaki (Maswa West - CCM).

CREDIT: THE CITIZEN