Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Permanent Secretary Chishimba Nkosha
The Ministry of General Education has directed that pupils at day schools should pay between K250 and K500 per term, while those in boarding schools should pay between K700 and K1, 000 as user fees.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka this afternoon, Permanent Secretary Chishimba Nkosha has however, stated that the approved ranges of user fees for public schools are mere guidelines.
He says school boards and school managers should use their good judgment to charge user fees that parents or guardians can afford.
Mr. Nkosha says to arrive at the decision; they will have to take into consideration the social economic situation of the environment where schools are situated.
He states that exercising this discretion means that in some environments, schools may ask pupils to pay even less than the approved fees in order to remain relevant in the business of providing education.
Mr. Nkosha has since implored all provincial education officers and all the officers they superintend to abide by the approved user fees.
He has further appealed to grant aided and private schools to be considerate when coming up with user fees for their learners.
Meanwhile the ministry of general education has removed the restriction for candidates to take only four subjects for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations.
Mr. Nkosha says GCE candidates are now free to rewrite as many as six subjects per sitting.