Certain schools are declining to accept the newly introduced Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency and are insisting on full payment of fees in foreign currency.

While supermarkets have embraced ZiG, it remains ineffective for purchasing fuel.

According to state media reports this week, numerous schools in Manicaland Province have been turning away parents and guardians attempting to pay fees and levies in local currency. These schools assert that they have yet to align their transaction systems with the new ZiG currency.

However, this claim appears unfounded, as most fee payments are conducted through banks whose systems have already adapted to the new currency.

Some schools are advising parents that they will only accept the new currency upon reopening. This mirrors their strategy during the RTGS era, where they anticipated a rise in the interbank bank rate.

Parents paying in foreign currency are reportedly receiving immediate service.

Additionally, boarding schools in the province are insisting on fees and levies exclusively in foreign currency.

Taungana Ndoro, Director of Communications and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, reiterated the government’s stance that parents are free to pay in a currency of their choosing (either forex or ZiG). Said Ndoro,

As schools prepare to reopen on May 7, 2024, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education would like to reiterate an important policy regarding school fees payment.

According to Secretary’s Circular No. 10 of 2022, Government’s position is that school fees should be paid in the local currency, which is now referred to as ZiG.

It is essential to note that no school should compel parents to pay fees or levies exclusively in foreign currency as Zimbabwe operates under a multi-currency regime. Parents have the freedom to pay in a currency of their choice.

In cases where fees are pegged in foreign currency for value preservation purposes, parents can make their payments in the local currency at the prevailing interbank rate of the day of the transaction.

This ensures that the fees are appropriately converted into any currency equivalent. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education emphasizes compliance with this policy to ensure fairness and flexibility in fee payments for all parents and guardians.