Junior Parliamentarians have given the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (ZIMSEC) six days to review the newly gazetted examination fees saying most parents cannot afford the required amounts due to the harsh economic situation prevailing in the country.
ZIMSEC gazetted O-Level exam fees at $190 per subject from $15 while A-Level exam fees have been set at $351 per subject from $26. A-Level candidates will pay $324 extra for Communication Skills while foreign candidates will pay $717 per subject.
Addressing a press conference in Harare last week, Tinashe Ngirande, Junior parliamentarian for Shurugwi North said the decision was misinformed hence the fees should be reviewed.
“We therefore call upon both the parent Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and Zimsec to treat the matter with the urgency it deserves. In the same vein we therefore would like to issue an ultimatum to Zimsec to revise their fees within a period of six days or else they should brace for student led protests since only the rich can afford,” said Ngirande.
He added that the move was likely to make education a privilege despite it being a human right which should be enjoyed by every citizen.
“In the same vein we would like to remind Zimsec that education is a constitutional right that is enshrined by section 75 of the Constitution and article 13 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural rights. This therefore makes education an inalienable right which all human beings must enjoy by mere fact of being humans,” he added.
However, with these absurd and unacceptable hikes in examination fees, there is no right to education to talk of since the prices makes education a privilege rather than a human right. These prices by Zimsec are meant to suffocate the education and as young and energetic people we will never tolerate or let such insanity triumph on our watch,”
The Junior Parliamentarians have submitted a petition to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary registered their concerns over the new exam fees.
