Why should we pay more fees than other govt aided schools?

The revised boarding fees moved from K25000 to K35000 and K65000 to K75000 in government and government aided secondary schools respectively.

To the contrary Malosa Secondary School announced that fees were hiked from K65000 to K80000. This is K5000 above the government proposed hike.

I feel with K80 000 it means we are subjected to private institutions’ conditions. K15000 per academic year is enough to buy grocers for our children or pay fees for another child at a CDSS. Unfortunately, we did not send our children to a private secondary school nor did government seek consent to select our pupils to an expensive institution.

Later government suspended fee hike due to economic standing. To my disappointment Malosa has maintained the K80000 fee hike as though we have our own economy.

As a concerned parent and Malawian, I would like to implore government and all stakeholders to consider this as discriminatory, fraudulent and unfair.

Our children were selected to various government aided secondary schools based on contract or memorandum of understanding between government and church administrators as one unit. Therefore it is important that all secondary schools which are party to the agreement must have same school fees as determined by government from time to time.

Besides, maintaining high fees when government has suspended the same is totally unacceptable unless government is playing double standards on the matter. Has Malosa turned into a private secondary school? And if yes why has government not relocated our children to other schools?

We are also affected by the economic crisis. This is discrimination at its best. Students selected on same conditions but are being treated differently.

If you visit Malosa today you will be shocked to see students living without soap and other school needs. Their parents cannot manage to buy for them. And if a choice was given we could not tick it because it is above our income.

As a church it is sad that it has chosen that path. I hope it has an obligation to help the poor. For income generation purposes churches build pure private schools.

Since the issue began in parliament and government agreed to it I feel it is necessary that it also goes to the same institutions for clarification and consideration.

Could they please let the nation know:

(i)        If cancellation of the fee hike did not affect government aided secondary schools

(ii)        Why,  if yes to (i) above

(iii)        If it is fair that schools should be charging fees above government recommendation

(iv)        If yes, is it necessary for government to select high performing pupils to private secondary schools without consent of guardians and parents?

(v)        How shall our rights to fair fee contribution be protected?

Finally, I would like to emphasize that my views represent many people who are affected by the same problem in all government aided secondary schools.

We are equally affected by the economic crisis and as such we also need to be saved.

Concerned parent

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