At last the government has
selected a private firm to review the controversial fee structure which is
being charged at exorbitant rates by some private school owners at both
secondary and primary levels in the country. It has been learnt. A spokesperson
of the Ministry of Education and Vocational training Ntambi Bunyanzu said that,
the ministry is in the process to accomplish contractual agreement with the
firm to start the work on straight after it has finished tendering procedures
that selected the firm. He said in an exclusive interview on Thursday this week
that, the firm (name withheld) would work to establish a fair unit cost charged
for secondary schools in the country, and later on would embark on primary
schools. According to Bunyanzu, the consulting firm would introduce indicative best
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.
He said 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. He further noted that, the Education Ministry has also tasked the
Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) to carry the same exercise for the
higher learning institutions in the country. The initiative being undertaken by
the government is to relieve local scholars of the great burden of the amount
of money which they currently pay as school fees and which ironically only few
parents in the community manage to pay. Confirming the exercise being
undertaken by TCU, the Director of Accreditation Dr. Savinus Maronga said that,
his institution has started to work on the relevant details in collaboration
with the heads of the respective higher learning institutions accredited in the
country. He said in a telephone interview on Wednesday this week that, TCU is
working on the total unit cost which includes not only tuition fees, but the
total cost a student is liable for payment and make a comparison if such
payments do match with the services offered. Two weeks ago, owners of private schools through their
organization known as Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of
Non-Government Schools and Colleges (TAMONGSCO) requested the government to
reduce higher taxes imposed on them.
Minister for Eduication and Vocational Training Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa
The organization through its Secretary
General Benjamin Nkonya was quoted as saying that, his organization is willing
to reduce school fees by up to 30 percent but only if the government scraps all
taxes imposed on them. According
to the official, the taxes include property, land, and corporate tax, Value Added
Tax (VAT), local government, work permit fees, occupational safety and health
administration (OSHA) among others. He
said if all these are scraped off, it would enable them reduce the current high fee structure being charged in their respective
schools and colleges accredited in the country. Preliminary investigations has
found out that, fees for private secondary schools as well as for those Primary
English Medium schools charges are twice as much as what is being paid by
students in higher learning schools in the country. A random survey carried out
in some of the schools in Dar es Salaam region and in other parts in the
country can establish that, the least fee payment for secondary schools range
at between Sh. 1.5 and Sh. 2 million for day scholars and between Sh. 2.5
million and above for boarders. Earlier during the 2013/14 financial year,
Commissioner for Education in the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
Professor Eustella Bhalalusesa announced the government’s plan to work
on the highly introduced fee structure by private education owners in the
country and promised to work on the matter. He said 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. This is after 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. She
noted that the government is fully committed to do away with the problem of
removing all contradictions between private and public schools because private
schools on the one hand are doing business.
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