MEMBERS of Parliament say it is high time that education becomes free even at high school level.
Debating the budget speech on Wednesday, the MPs said many pupils were idle at home after completing their primary school education as they could not proceed to high school due to financial constraints.
The MPs said it was time for secondary education to be free as well.
Mbabane East MP Welcome Dlamini said the Minister of Finance had stated that education was where agape love makes its longest investment when delivering his budget speech.
He said the minister had also stated that the decisions made today in classrooms would determine the kind of nation the country would become by 2040.
Dlamini warned that if the current situation persisted, by 2040 the country could have a nation filled with primary school dropouts and learners who had failed to complete high school.
“The minister of education knows that almost half of the pupils who complete Grade VII do not enrol for high school, which means they disappear in the system. Many of these children are wandering on the streets because their parents cannot afford school fees. “The only solution is for us to have free secondary education because it is about time. We must put an end to the cycle of people not completing school and falling pregnant,” he said.
Financial barriers
Phondo MP Bonginkhosi Dube said the prime minister and the minister of finance should look into the matter as it appeared government was abandoning pupils when they needed to proceed to Form I.
He said some children were forced to do piece jobs during weekends in order to continue with their education.
“The E2 500 that they are expected to pay is a lot and schools do not allow parents to pay in instalments, while private schools allow it. Pupils who do not have parents and are being taken care of by their grandparents are unable to afford the fees,” he said.
Concerns over learners staying at home
Nkhaba MP Hope Shiba echoed the call for free secondary education, saying many pupils, particularly girls who had passed Grade VII, were currently at home because they could not afford top-up fees.
He revealed that in one community within his constituency, eight young girls who had passed Grade VII were not attending school because of financial constraints.
Mtfongwaneni MP Nathi Hlophe said he had expected the minister to explain how pupils would transition from primary school to high school.
He said learners were paying between E3 500 and E4 000 as top-up fees in schools, which many families, particularly those headed by grandparents, could not afford.
“We are confused because we are unable to pay their fees as MPs since we cannot afford all of them,” he said.
Growing pressure on Government
Maseyisini MP Nokuthula Dlamini said more than 15 pupils under her chiefdom were currently at home because they could not afford to continue with their education.
She said she had personally tried assisting some of the pupils, but others still remained without help.
Hhohho Regional MP Zanele Magagula said the country risked allowing the education system to “die a silent death” if the issue was not urgently addressed.
She said it was concerning that government had introduced A-Level education while many learners could not even afford top-up fees after the Deputy Prime Minister’s office had paid for vulnerable children.
“A-Levels cost E2 500 per child per subject and how will we afford this while government cannot pay the E2 450 needed as top-up fees,” she said.
Ngudzeni MP Charles Ndlovu added that parents were also burdened by having to pay teachers who taught their children in Grade Zero.
He said government should find solutions to employ more teachers so that parents were not forced to carry that responsibility.
Meanwhile, Mhlambanyatsi MP Dr Bonginkhosi Dlamini said the budget allocation for scholarships was lower than the allocation for corrections.
He said this suggested that the country was prioritising correcting the youth rather than investing in their education through scholarships.
He urged decision-makers to reconsider their priorities and take action to support learners.
READ MORE | DPM spends over E900 000 in elderly burials
