MBABANE - “The MPs are now playing politics in what they are saying.”
This was said by Eswatini Schools Committee and Parents Association (ESCPA) Secretary General (SG) Cyprian Dlamini yesterday regarding the Members of Parliament’s (MPs) submissions that the 2020/2021 school fees owed by learners must be written off. He was responding to whether it would be practical to have this done. Some of the MPs wanted school fees owed by learners to be scrapped because the whole world was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a majority of parents losing their jobs. Dlamini said it was unfortunate that the MPs wanted to take such a decision just because their term in Parliament was almost elapsing and, therefore, wanted to cause more problems for the upcoming MPs.
Unbudgeted
“Sebafuna kushiya lukhwekhwe lapha ngemuva since they know very well that they are going home. The MPs are trying to bring something which has not been well-planned or unbudgeted for,” he said. He further said such a move by the MPs would be good news to the parents but what would happen to the arrears in schools. He also wanted to know from the MPs whether government would bail out all those parents owing school fees for the 2020/2021 academic year. “What the MPs are proposing is good news to parents’ ears, however, how will the schools function without enough funds?” wondered Dlamini. Thereon, Dlamini said it seemed as if the MPs were just playing politics. He said if the MPs were truthful on what they were saying, then government would focus on each school, looking at the amount owed and how it would be paid. “It is true that people lost their jobs during the COVID-19 era, but I am against what the MPs are saying. They want to leave behind unresolved issues. This is not the way to vacate office,” he narrated.
Meanwhile, some head teachers are also against the writting off of the owed school fees. They said what the MPs submitted was totally wrong because they did not know how schools operated and the funds needed to run them on a daily basis. They argued that they were always being criticised when schools performed badly, without taking into consideration whether funds to run the schools were available or not.
Money
They wanted to know where exactly were they expected to get money from to run the schools since government always failed to pay on time. One frustrated head teacher, in one of the schools in Mbabane, said it was totally wrong for the MPs to make such a submission. He asked the legislators to come and run the schools themselves and see if it would be possible to do so when parents failed to pay, not because they did not have money but they didn’t feel like doing so. “I am really shocked that the MPs are saying this. We have been always complaining about funds, no food and textbooks but they kept quiet. They mustn’t do as they please about what is happening in schools,” said the head teacher. Another head teacher revealed that it was unfortunate that even learners of parents occupying higher positions at work owed school fees for the 2020/2021 academic year. She wanted to know from those parents whether they thought they were doing the right thing.
Pleaded
She pleaded with government to not even consider such an idea because that would cost taxpayers. She said parents must approach them and negotiate. Meanwhile, government still insists that head teachers and parents must agree on how the owed school fees would be paid. Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training Bhekithemba Gama said any form of disagreement between the two parties must be reported to the regional education officers to come up with a solution. “We are saying parents and head teachers must work together regarding the payments of owed school fees. They must come up with strategies on how the situation can be handled,” he said.