NO CHILD SHALL BE BARRED FROM SCHOOL FOR FAILING TO PAY SCHOOL FEES, NOT HAVING A BIRTH CERTIFICATE — GOVERNMENT SAYS

The government has gazetted a new Statutory Instrument (S.I.), which prohibits schools from barring children from attending classes due to non-payment of fees or the lack of a birth certificate.

According to S.I.13 of 2025 no child shall be denied access to education for failing to pay school fees or for not possessing a birth certificate.

“Basic education is compulsory and, if the parents of the pupil cannot afford the tuition fees and levies at a government school, the State shall assist, within the limits of the resources available to it, in providing that education.

“No pupil shall be excluded from school for non-payment of any form of school fees or levies,” part of the S.I. reads.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government also said that no head of a public school shall refuse to enroll a school-aged child solely because the child does not possess a birth certificate.

“No school head shall exclude a child of school-going age from enrolment at a government school solely on the ground that the child does not have a birth certificate,” the S.I. added.

Meanwhile, government also said in cases where a girl who is a pupil at a school becomes pregnant, the institution’s head shall facilitate psycho-social supportive services to the girl and parent and the girl may stay in school as long as possible before giving birth and return after recovery if she and her parents choose to do so. *_-NewZimbabwe_*