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The judgment by Justice Maphios Cheda read in part: “When a parent or guardian secures a place for a child  at a school or tertiary institution, a contract is entered into between the  said institution and the parent with regards to payment of fees.

“The said contract can either be expressed or implied. The parent undertakes to pay all the fees which the institution levies on the student  from time to time. Failure by the parent to do so results in the institution of legal proceedings against the  parent to recover the said fees.

“No valid steps or proceedings can be taken against a minor who has no contract with the institution to pay fees. To do so is abuse of authority on the part of the institution…”

It has become the norm for school authorities to send away pupils for non- payment of fees at the opening of each school term. This is against Government policy and the action has been declared illegal by the High Court.

School authorities have over the years defied a Government directive and ignored a High Court ruling and this should be viewed seriously by the authorities.  School authorities cannot be allowed to act outside the laws of this country.  Those that decide to be defiant should be punished severely in order to send a clear message that no one is above the law.

Government should not allow a situation whereby the learning of innocent pupils is disrupted by defiant school authorities that decide to flout the laws of this country by sending pupils home for non-payment of  school fees or levies. The High Court ruling made it very clear that it is the parents who have an obligation to pay school fees and not their children. The action to enforce the payment of fees should therefore be taken against the parents and not their children.

Many pupils attending boarding schools will be returning to school on Monday and as has happened in the past, some school authorities might want to stop those pupils that have not paid fees from boarding school buses which is illegal. Some school authorities might also want to lock out the pupils that have not paid fees or levies which again is illegal.

Parents should cause the arrest of these defiant school authorities as what happened in Gweru leading to the 2011 landmark High Court judgment on school fees by Justice Cheda.

We however want to make it abundantly clear that we do not condone non-payment of fees or levies. Parents have an obligation to ensure that they pay for the education of their children. The payment of school fees and levies should be a top priority for each parent every school term.

Those parents who find it difficult to pay the full amount at the beginning of each term should engage school authorities in order to come up with agreed payment arrangements.

Schools, especially boarding schools, need the money to buy essentials such as food and those parents whose children fail to pay the required fees are therefore causing inconveniences to the rest of the pupils who might be forced to do without adequate food.

We want at this juncture to implore parents to strive to pay the fees and levies on time while the school authorities should refrain from disrupting the learning of pupils by sending them home for non-payment of school fees.