Indebted students to proceed to Senior Secondary - Dow

Lerato Maleke | Tuesday December 16, 2014 19:50

Speaking in Parliament last week, Assistant Minister Dr Unity Dow said that no child should be excluded from continuing with schooling or be denied certificates/testimonials on an account of debt owed to a school.

“Madam Speaker, my ministry still maintains that no child should be excluded from continuing with schooling or be denied certificate or testimonials because of debt owed to school”, she said.

Dow said that all debts resulting from failure to pay school fees, loss of both library and textbooks and any other debt incurred by students should be followed up with the parents.

The minister said that in a situation where a child is proceeding from junior secondary to the senior level, their names and all other information relating to the debt should be forwarded to the senior secondary they have been admitted to.

She added that the school where the child has been admitted to will pursue the matter with the concerned parents.

Dow said that it remains the responsibility of both the school heads and regional directors to follow up with parents to collect monies owed to the schools.

The ministry has directed school heads through directives and savingrams to take heed of the issue and therefore desist from denying students to obtain their certificates/testimonials.