Mozambique: Students protest against scholarship agreement breach - Photos
Photo: DW
Parents and guardians in Inhambane province denounce cases of extortion in primary and secondary schools.
According to several sources consulted by DW, educational establishments are demanding money from students to pay for security guards. Several children who do not pay the “fee”, are being prevented from attending classes, parents say,
Manuel Paulino, a student at Massinga Secondary School, says that he missed classes for a week because his father did not have the money to pay for the security guards.
“I didn’t attend classes last week because I didn’t pay the guard’s money,” he says. “Each student has to pay 200 meticais [about three Euros]. It was only this week that I went back [to school], because I was able to pay,” he adds.
Children sent home
Benedita Filimone Zualo, a carer in the city of Maxixe, decries the illegal charges and says that her grandson has already been sent home from school for not having the money.
“He left school and immediately came back. He said: ‘Grandma, they want the [security] guard’s money.’ I said: ‘Go back to school, because at the moment I don’t have anything to give you.’ And he said: ‘They won’t let me in the room,'” she told DW.
Caetano Filipe, another student in Inhambane, says that he was given a deadline by the school for paying the guard surcharge. “They say we have 15 days to pay the 200 meticais. Then they will give us a receipt to show the guard so that he will let us in,” he says.
Santos Sevene, president of the Association of Parents and Guardians in the district of Maxixe, criticises the charge, which in his view does not recognise the difficulties facing families.
“The mandatory nature of paying the security guard is not stipulated. Each school [already] has its own amount to pay the guards for a year. Looking at [the cases] of parents with six, five or four children, or even do not work, it is difficult for them,” he says.
Roberto Zunguze, director of District Education Services in Massinga, says that the direct support schools receive from central government is inadequate.
“The budget has not been enough to support the activities of the schools,” he explains.
Roberto Zunguze confirms that students are charged an extra fee, which serves to pay the salaries of the security guards.
But, “In no way should the student miss classes because the parent was unable to honour this community commitment,” he emphasises.
On average, one school class has 60 students. Each school has about 30 classes. The average contribution is 100 meticais per student – about one Euro. The contribution per class is 6,000 meticais, around €80, so the total contribution is 540,000 meticais, or about €8,000. The annual salary of a security guard is 60,000 meticais – about €85.00.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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