MY child attends a private high school in Harare (name withheld) and is in the middle of writing Advanced Level examinations. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the examination papers are being written in January and early February. When I took my child to school who is a boarder, I was asked to pay US$500 as boarding and tuition fees for the period that my child will be at the school, which is 19 days. I tried to seek clarification from the school authorities concerning the hefty fees, but the reasons proffered could not justify such an exorbitant amount for only 19 days. Fees for the third term of 2020 were US$500 and were paid in full despite that the examination classes opened later than normal. I was told that I had to pay the full amount of school fees (US$500) or US$200 and my child becomes a day scholar. In this COVID-19-induced lockdown period, I obviously had to sacrifice, fearing the risk associated with commuting daily to and from the school and that it was going to be too expensive. My bone of contention is that US$500 I paid as fees for less than a month is too much. However, when I asked the school authorities to call a meeting with the parents, they spurned my proposal. Parents have been going to the ministry offices daily to seek assistance to no avail. Please help us resolve this issue because sending children to school has become such a mammoth task. Please authorities, don’t allow this daylight robbery to continue unchecked. Reaped Off
