The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is reportedly owed over $700 000 in unpaid tuition fees since dollarisation of the economy in 2009.
According to the latest council minutes, BCC director of housing and community services Isaiah Magagula said few parents had paid tuition fees for this year’s first term.
“The first term has come and gone with very little activity in terms of fees payment,” Magagula said. “As has been the trend, parents were struggling to pay their children’s fees and arrears for previous months and years.”
Arrears for the first term and previous terms, dating back to 2009, stand at $770 725. Magagula said at the end of this year’s first term, a total of $452 545 was paid inclusive of arrears.
“However, very little was paid for children benefiting from the Basic Education Assistance Module and this included third- term arrears for 2010,” said Magagula.
“The schools received a total of $10 308 as payments, while $28 257 was outstanding.”
Magagula said school heads were doing their best to ensure that parents paid fees for their children despite economic hardships.
In May, the local authority said it would take legal action to recover unpaid tuition fees from parents and guardians.
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BCC runs 29 schools in the city, with a total enrolment of 35 119.