WOE UNTO HEAD TEACHERS WHO SEND OWING PUPILS HOME - PARLY

MBABANE – Head teachers who defy the order to not chase away or expel owing pupils from school, will now be in contempt of Parliament.

This was stated yesterday after a motion moved by Lobamba Lomdzala Member of Parliament (MP) Marwick Khumalo and seconded by Manzini South MP Thandi Nxumalo on same, was passed. It was further said the transgressors would have to answer to Parliament and would be penalised accordingly. The motion, which was passed during a sitting in the House of Assembly, moved that the Minister of Education and Training Lady Mabuza should ensure that no pupil was expelled from secondary or high school, temporarily or permanently because of owing fees, while government urgently came up with a concise plan of action on how it would fund the fees being owed by the pupils, including the examinations fees.

Problem

The motion further moved that the plan of action should also include how government would arrest this problem permanently. The plan of action should be tabled in the House within four weeks after the adoption of the motion. Worth noting is that 35 MPs showed interest in debating the matter, however, the debate was adjourned and the motion was passed before all of them could engage in the debate. When moving the motion, the Lobamba Lomdzala MP submitted that the issue at hand was a national crisis and they, as legislators entrusted by the citizenry, should nip it in the bud before it had far-reaching repercussions.

Financially

“This issue affects each and every individual in this nation and especially, directly affects us as parliamentarians. Government needs to resolve this issue permanently as the nation is aggrieved and people are not financially equipped enough due to long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he stated. The legislator further submitted that the pandemic had caused great turmoil, resulting in loss of jobs, businesses failing, resulting in their closure and prices of commodities increasing, making the poor poorer. “As parliamentarians when we passed the Free Primary Education (FPE) Fund, the intention was for the parent to save up, for the time when the pupil would then proceed to secondary or high school, but it is a disservice to expect parents to have saved up enough to take their children to school when they can barely afford to put food on the table.

“A lot of the guardians and parents lost their jobs and their places of work downsized. It is, therefore, disheartening to allow children to experience the implications of COVID-19 when they are not to blame for the damage caused. This is a national crisis and we cannot let teachers chase children away,” he submitted. Khumalo further stated that this was applicable to exam fees as well.

Repercussions

He said as MPs, they knew about the repercussions of removing  these children from class first hand, because they had to, from time to time, assist with paying fees for some of their constituents. He said in the past, government’s priorities were misplaced and they should prioritise this because children were the future and should be invested in, as allowing this to continue happening would have detrimental implications to the country’s socioeconomic status in the long-term. “We take billions and invest in infrastructural development, which it seems we have placed more value in than education. An adjustment needs to happen and projects that are not of urgency should be set aside for now, while government focuses on this issue wholeheartedly,” Khumalo said. He further highlighted that children were now opting to go and attain education in South Africa because it was free, and were faced with trials as they had to rent accommodation and be adults at a young age when they still required parental care.

Penniless

Motion seconder, Manzini South MP Nxumalo, concurred with Khumalo, stating that MPs were now penniless because they spent most of their money paying school fees for children who were removed from school. “We are all aware of what COVID-19 has done to the world and many have been left jobless, assets of businesspeople have been repossessed and their businesses closed. This crisis is bigger than what you see at face value as parents do not have money to even buy food,” she said. Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg, also stood up to debate the matter.

He said he agreed with the fact that a better way of handling things was needed as well as a solid plan. “We should be mindful that the country spends E4 billion on education, which is a huge chunk of the collected tax. No other country, I think, uses the same percentage of tax on education. However, as a ministry, we are willing to look into this crisis with an open mind,” he stated. Minister of Labour and Social Security, who is also the MP of Matsanjeni South, Phila Buthelezi, said although he agreed with the first part of the motion, it would be on the right track if it had the financial capacity to do so.

“It is tough as government is already struggling as we speak. Is it fair to add onto the problems government already has? Recently, government was slow to disperse the FPE and the orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) grants. In the past few weeks there were challenges with ensuring all students were paid allowances, therefore I am not sure if government would be able to handle this added responsibility of paying for pupils in high school as well,” he said. It should be noted that there was confusion over whether the motion was requesting for free high school education or just the payment of fees of owing pupils. However, it was later clarified that the motion was on the latter. Gilgal MP Kenneth Fakudze said he supported the motion because government should treat this as a priority.

“If you know how big this issue is you will see the pressing need to resolve it. If you cannot see the sense of urgency you will come up with every excuse in the book. This issue stems from head teachers defying a clear order from the Ministry of Education and Training, not to send home owing pupils but they did not listen. What these head teachers are doing will have dire implications in the long run,” he said. Fakudze said the children sitting at home doing nothing were a ticking time bomb. Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini, said as parliamentarians, they needed to bring this issue closer to home.

Responsible

“The minister of Education and Training said the only person who can send pupils home was the director of Education, whom I engaged after I saw pupils being chased away from school and he said he was not the one responsible for this,” he said. MP Lutfo said this motion had nothing to do with government having money or not but it was a matter of urgency and important. This is creating a social mental health issue because these children are all looking at their parents expecting them to do something, yet these parents are helpless. Let us look at rebudgeting and assisting the underprivileged liSwati,” said the Ndzingeni MP. He said government had problems but surely it could make a plan to accommodate this issue. Mpolonjeni MP Jacob Siwela said he knew very well that the country was burdened with financial issues and inflation was high, therefore, parents did not have the means to pay school fees. “Let us at least give these people hope,” he said.

Learning

Deputy Speaker and Mhlangatane MP Madala Mhlanga said parents should be given time to get this money and while they did so, their children should be in class, learning. “We do not want the children to end up engaging in illicit acts, all because they were sent home,” he said. In closing, MP Khumalo, the mover of the motion, said the head teachers were clearly defiant and needed to be brought to book. He said since the motion had been passed it would now be contempt of Parliament to send pupils away for owing school fees and the transgressors would have to answer before the House and further be penalised accordingly. “Sitobona kutsi ngubani lolotiva anemandle ngetulu kwahulumende,” (translated to mean; We will see who feels they have power above government), said Khumalo.

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