Charging For Extra Lessons Is “Corruption”, Says Education Ministry

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has doubled down on its stance that teachers who charge pupils for extra lessons are engaging in outright corruption, warning that such practices amount to an abuse of public office and could attract both disciplinary action and criminal charges.

Speaking at a recent meeting in Bulawayo, the ministry’s Director of Communications and Advocacy, Taungana Ndoro, said teachers demanding payment for extra lessons were exploiting the authority of their public positions, despite already being paid by the state. Said Ndoro:

“This is corruption in public office. The office of a teacher is the classroom. If that teacher is in that classroom and uses the power and authority within him or her to abuse that platform, to say, ‘parent, give me money so that I can teach your child,’ a job which you are already being paid for by government, then you are corrupt and you are supposed to be put to task.”

His remarks follow longstanding complaints from parents that teachers in public schools have been charging between US$10 and US$20 per month per child for extra lessons.

Across the country, parents say these sessions have increasingly taken on the air of informal “pay-to-learn” schemes, with some teachers allegedly threatening to overlook pupils who do not pay.

Ndoro was quick to dismiss the usual defences offered by teachers, who claim extra lessons are necessary to support struggling learners or to top up meagre salaries. He said:

“If the teacher says, ‘I’m not earning enough and I’m trying to supplement,’ that is corruption.

“It’s just like an immigration officer who stamps your passport and asks for US$50.

“Or a ZIMRA officer who asks for something after discovering goods that have not paid duty. They are abusing public office. It’s the same with teachers.”

Ndoro warned that teachers found charging pupils for extra lessons could face sanctions under public service regulations, and potentially criminal prosecution.

He urged parents who suspect wrongdoing to follow proper reporting channels, beginning at the lowest level.

Ndoro said that for issues affecting their own children, the first port of call for the parent should be the class teacher.

If the matter remains unresolved, it should be escalated to the head of the school, whom Ndoro described as the “CEO” of each institution.

He, however, admitted that some headmasters and district officials had colluded in corrupt practices, eroding trust in reporting structures.

Parents are advised to take complaints that cannot be resolved at the district level to provincial offices, which Ndoro said are more independent. Said Ndoro:

“If that fails, because it does fail at times, that’s when you come to the Ministry’s head office.

“The permanent secretary, normally, is the final decision maker in those cases. Beyond that, you take us to court.

“These are the reporting structures until you are satisfied that your complaint has been handled.”

– _CITEZW_