Standard 8 exam fees worry parents

Parents and guardians of Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PLSCE) examinations candidates in Traditional Authority Kawamba in Kasungu are worried that the introduction of examination fees will hinder their wards from sitting for the examinations.

Speaking in an interview on Friday, Nthunduwala ward councillor Fyson Chezani said parents and guardians complained to him that the examination fee is conflicting with the free primary education policy.

“Although the fee is not high, not all parents and guardians from rural areas can manage to pay. Imagine someone taking care of five school-going children and he/she earns less than the required amount of their basic needs and is forced to pay K300 per candidate for the examinations,” he said.

Kasungu district education manager (DEM)Rocky Hausi said this was news.

He said: “What I know is that some primary schools truly agreed to be paying an examination fee towards the end of each term for the cost of printing, but this is there upon the agreement by which the headteacher together with school management committee of the school, so this is news since the very same parents who agreed on their own are now complaining about it.”

Hausi said his office already addressed all head teachers from to follow proper procedures when coming up with terminal examination fees.

“We will investigate what was happening for them to be sending the children back home and I’m sure we will resolve it,” Hausi recalled. n