Swaziland’s education minister on Wednesday dismissed a threat by school teachers to expel more than 69 000 orphaned or poor students in Swaziland because the government had not paid their fees.
”There is nowhere in law where such a provision exists … It is government’s policy that they should all go to school,” Constance Simelane said on local television.
”It had been our hope that the matter would be discussed amicably between the parties concerned but it is a pity that we now have to discuss it in public,” she said.
The threat was made by Charles Bennett, the head of a national teachers’ association.
The Southern African kingdom had allocated 60-million emalangeni ($8,3-million) in its last Budget to support the education of 69 500 destitute pupils and orphans, including those who have lost their parents to HIV/Aids, but had not paid the money so far, he said.
”If the money is not paid by Friday this week we told the pupils that they must not bother with coming to school on June 26 because the schools can no longer afford to operate efficiently without their share coming from government,” he said, adding: ”We can no longer operate like this.”
Bennett said schools were being sued by suppliers of teaching aids and other items for debt, adding that many institutions were struggling to pay water and electricity bills.
There are approximately 450 000 students spread across 800 schools in Swaziland, Africa’s last absolute monarchy.
Swaziland’s King Mswati III has attracted criticism for his lavish lifestyle in a country where more than half of the 1,1-million population lives below the poverty line and about 40% of adults are living with HIV/Aids.
Meanwhile Hezekial Mabuza, the chairperson of the Swaziland Book Sellers Association, the main supplier of text books to schools, said his association would now only function on a cash on delivery basis.
”As an association we have taken a stand that we will not give credit facility next as [a] result of [the] ongoing problem of payment,” Mabuza said. ‒ Sapa-AFP