Govt to review high fees charged by private schools in the country

At last the government has set to review the controversial fee structure which is being charged at exorbitant rates by some private school owners in the country, reliable source from the Ministry of Education and Vocational training has said. Sources who spoke on strict condition of anonymity said recently in exclusive interview in Dar es Salaam yesterday that, the government has admitted the fact that there is unfair treatment among Tanzanians who are in need of quality education for their children being provided in private schools accredited in the country. But for some reasons whatsoever, most of them are unable to afford the highly introduced fee structures which are being charged by the privately run schools in the country. In view of this, the government has listened to people’s claims and is now going to look at the matter to see what it can do in order to review the existing fee structure which it has noticed to be charged at a higher rate an aspect that only few Tanzanians could afford. The government’s reaction has come amid long complaints from some parents and guardians of students and pupils who are learning in private schools mostly those of English medium primary schools, as well as secondary schools. According to the source, the government is in plan to introduce indicative fee structure for the running schools in the country judging from the kind of education and the facilities being provided by the said schools in the country. Sources have maintained that, the government is intending to minimize such complaints which it has seen is likely to cause segregation and discrimination among education stakeholders, whereby people who have will continue to benefit the fruits of the country than those who do not have. It said, while executing the move, the government plans to make negotiations in collaboration with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) known as Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of Non-Government Schools and Colleges (TAMONGSCO) in the country. However, the Secretary General of the association Benjamin Nkonya was recently quoted as saying that, the high fee structure in private schools in the country is as a result of the poor education policy which recognizes the presence of private schools but states nothing or little on how they are going to be run. He said the policy does not clearly state how the private schools are to get students. Due to this weakness, he added, the schools are forced to recruit students at any cost including advertising posts which need a lot of capital investments. The official further noted that, lack of policy guidelines has been cited as a major factor behind private schools’ arbitrary fee charges, which have drawn complaints from parents and various other guardians across the country. He also noted that, such schools are accused of conducting admissions at their own discretion, selling joining instruction forms at exorbitant prices and undertaking tuitions even where they are not needed, all in order to boost their revenues. Education sponsors and parents say private schools charge between 5,000/- and 200,000/- for a joining instruction form, which is not refundable if the candidate is not called for an interview. Preliminary investigations carried out by this paper has discovered that, there is high fee structure being charged by English medium schools in Dar es Salaam city and in other parts in the country from the kindergarten level to secondary levels. The survey done in some schools in Dar es Salaam city shows that, charges range between Sh. 800,000 and Sh. 1.5 million to pupils in nursery or kindergarten schools. And between Sh. 1.8 million and Sh. 2 million in primary schools and between Sh. 2.3 million and Sh. 3.1 million paid per year for secondary schools. The rates are equivalent and even more to those ones being charged by the higher learning institutions that range between Sh. 1.9 million to Sh. 2.5 million respectively. Some parents have complained about the fee structures and noted that, in some schools there are no proper educational facilities being provided as compared to the huge sums of money they pay at the school for their children. Dismayed over the matter, some have called on the government to intervene as the money which they pay is too much as compared to what is being paid in higher learning institutions. This they say does not match with the quality of education their children receives. Anthony Michael, a professional doctor in the city said that, he has two children and has no any other means to escape except to incur the huge expense which aught him sometimes to take a loan. For her part, the Education Commissioner Prof Eustella Bhalalusesa said the government is aware of the problem and it has introduced a joint admission system to address it. Bhalalusesa said correct changes are needed to do away with the problem because private schools on the one hand are doing business, calling for correct decisions so that their businesses are not affected. She said the government is committed to removing all contradictions between private and public schools