EDUCATION BILL PASSES AS SCHOOLS CRY FOUL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000308

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR B. NEULING
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2015
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL ZI
SUBJECT: EDUCATION BILL PASSES AS SCHOOLS CRY FOUL

REF: A. A HARARE 227


B. REF B HARARE 187

Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d

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Summary
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1. (C) The widely unpopular Education Bill passed Parliament
on February 28, enhancing GOZ powers to interfere with the
operations of private schools. In consultation with school
groups, the GOZ amended many of the more objectionable
provisions. However, according to Jameson Timba, the
chairman of the private schools association, a last-minute
amendment by Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere that caps
the fees that day students pay at boarding schools is
unconstitutional and endangers all schools. Timba told us he
plans to issue an ultimatum to President Mugabe who has yet
to sign the bill; either remove the new provision or they
will challenge the amendment in court. End Summary.

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Parliament Approves Watered-Down Education Bill
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2. (SBU) An amended Education Bill passed Parliament last
week and now awaits Mugabe's signature. The original Bill
faced strong opposition, even from within ZANU-PF (ref B).
It was heavily revised, with input from the private schools,
after the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC) found parts to
be unconstitutional. The revised legislation requires that
all schools apply to the Education Ministry Permanent
Secretary (PS) before raising fees but requires the PS to

SIPDIS
approve all hikes that do not exceed the increase in the
official consumer price index (CPI) over the last school
term. Schools can apply for rate increases in excess of the
inflation rate so long as the parents at the school agree,
but in these cases the PS has the right to refuse.


3. (C) Jameson Timba, the chairman of the Association of
Trust Schools, told poloff on March 8 that he had suggested
linking tuition hikes to the CPI even though he was aware
that the official rate of inflation was severely
underreported. For the schools, the most important issue had
been finding some way to increase their fees without
government interference. In that regard, he noted that the
original Bill had allowed the Ministry to unilaterally set
fees for private schools. Timba said the government had made
other concessions to the schools in the amended Bill,
including provisions for the use of temporary teachers if a
qualified instructor could not be found, the predominant use
of local languages (not all three national languages) in
early grades, and the abandonment of plans to created a
nationwide school uniform.

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But Late-Minute Amendment Sparks Outrage
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4. (SBU) After the House of Assembly agreed to the revisions
and the Bill was before the Senate, Education Minister
Chigwedere inserted a last-minute amendment that would cap
fees that day school students pay at boarding school at 30 or
40 percent of full boarding fees, depending on whether meals
were provided or not. With virtually no debate, the upper
house assented to the change. Called back to into sessio
with only 66 of its 150 members present, the lowr house
approved the Senate's changes on Februar 28.


5. (C) Timba told poloff that this amendmnt defied economic
logic and, if implemented, wold force many schools to close.

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All schools had different cost structures, which made
uniformity in fee formulations impractical. Boarding school
fees for day students are typically about 50 percent of fees
for boarders. In order to adhere to the 30 or 40 percent
ratio, boarding schools would either have to significantly
lower fees for day students ) unlikely in Zimbabwe's
hyperinflationary environment - or raise fees for boarders,
which might run them afoul of the CPI-linked rate hike limit.
Timba suggested that Education PS Steven Mahare's personal
interests had driven this provision. Mahare had once
remarked to Timba that he resented paying more for his son's
schooling where he was not provided a meal than for his
daughter's schooling where she was.


6. (C) Timba, a lawyer by training, also said the wording of
the amendment would be technically impossible for
non-boarding schools to comply with. The provision that
allowed them to increase fees also required them to abide by
the new fee structure for boarding students. However, since
they had no boarders, Timba contended, the day schools would
be unable to set any fees. If this remained unchanged it
might force many schools to close as a result and that made
the last)minute amendment unconstitutional. (N.B. The
constitution guarantees that no law will hinder the
operations of private school.) The PLC ) which reviews all
bills to test their constitutionality ) had approved the
amendment. However, PLC member and MDC MP Innocent Gonese
had admitted to Timba that the committee had made a mistake
in its haste, which it unfortunately could not revoke.

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Issuing Ultimatum to Mugabe
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7. (C) Timba said the schools were determined to fight the
bill. Outlining the school association's next step, he said
he hoped to meet with Mugabe later this week to discuss the
last-minute amendment. Timba planned to offer Mugabe two
options: sign the Bill but require the Minister to suspend
the boarding fee provision, or send the Bill back to
Parliament for revision.


8. (C) Timba was confident, based on past successful meetings
with Mugabe, that he could once again appeal to the leader's
own Catholic school upbringing to convince him to override
his Education Minister. Timba also shared with poloff a
letter he wrote to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa * who
Timba said had helped revise the original Bill ) asking the
Minister to intervene on the school association's behalf. If
Mugabe refused to overturn the amendment, Timba was prepared
to take the issue to the High Court to test the clause's
constitutionality.
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Comment
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9. (C) The massive sigh of relief breathed by parents after
the more contentious provisions of the original Education
Bill were withdrawn has been replaced by fresh concerns for
their children's schooling. Once renowned for having some of
Africa's best schools and highest literacy rates, ZANU-PF and
Chigwedere in particular have single-handedly destroyed much
of Zimbabwe's education system. Attacks on private schools
and the universities (ref A) are rapidly eroding the human
capital so vital to any post-Mugabe economic turnaround and
which, once destroyed, will take years if not decades to
replace. Moreover, the GOZ's constant assault on the
education system remains a significant impetus for migration.


10. (C) Chigwedere and the regime's insistence on capping
school fees is yet another demagogic play to the galleries of
supposed mass opinion while ignoring economic realities and

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educating their own children abroad.
DELL