PRIVATE SCHOOL FEES
We note with serious concern that certain upmarket private schools quote their school fees in United States dollars on the pretext that they pay expatriate staff salaries in US dollars.
However, the bulk of their costs is in Zambian Kwacha such as water, electricity, fuel, general staff wages, and so on and so forth.
The issue of quoting salaries in dollars presupposes that parents are earning their income in dollars. This is true for expatriates but completely untrue for local Zambians whose children attend these schools and their salaries/incomes are in Kwacha.
We should not, as Zambians, allow schools to be operating in Zambia for expatriates only and excluding Zambians in a subtle way through dollarisation of school fees, and we sit and watch quietly.
As an example, if you pay $10,000 per year in school fees. When the exchange rate was K16 and you paid K160,000. Now the exchange rate is K27, it means you are now paying K270,000. What is more ironic is that these schools are increasing fees annually, and Zambians are being milked. It’s every parent’s wish to provide first class education to their children, so the issue of saying you enrolled voluntarily does not arise. Zambians should be protected from being marginalised in their own country.
What’s even annoying is that Zambian academic staff are paid in Kwacha, and their expatriate colleagues are paid in dollars for the same work. Does it mean expatriates are more important than Zambians? Go to South Africa, all salaries are in Rand whether expatriate or not. Why should only foreigners benefit in Zambia and Zambians marginalised? For equity purposes, Zambian staff should also be paid in dollars.
We urge the Ministry of Education to intervene in this matter and request all private schools to price in Kwacha and not dollars and to stop this abuse.
What’s even worrying more beyond school fees is why the Bank of Zambia is allowing dollarisation of our economy when the only legal tender in Zambia is Kwacha. With this volatile exchange rate, it is hurting Zambians badly. Even in the real estate business, rentals go up every month as the exchange rate slides.
It’s time the Bank of Zambia issued a statutory instrument to price all goods and services in Kwacha.
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party
Now uou have spoken some serious sense, not everyday HH UMMMM
At least Fred has written sense than the political hatred and post newspaper hang over. Let us be of value to society in our comments.
It’s not only schools but even businesses including car dealers and property dealers quote in dollars. This is just in order to keep up with inflation in an unstable economy like ours and its how a good business operates to keep ahead of inflation but mmembe can’t understand this concept since he wasn’t even paying tax on his post newspaper and eventually ran it to the ground.