Harare - Zimbabwe's government slashed school fees by as much as 93% and averted a teachers strike on Tuesday after exempting them from paying fees for their children, state media reported on Tuesday.
The unity government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is struggling to pay workers as Western donors continue to withhold crucial aid, demanding authorities carry out wider political reforms first.
Education Minister David Coltart said school fees had been cut to between $5 and $20 a term in state primary and secondary schools, down from between $20 and $280 announced two months ago, which parents said were unaffordable due to low wages and high living costs.
In contrast, parents at private schools have to pay up to $3 000 per school term.
The new school term opened on Tuesday with teachers' unions urging their members to report for duty after reaching agreement with government.
The Herald newspaper said the government and unions had struck a deal late on Monday which exempted teachers from paying fees for their children in state schools.
"Teachers will also be exempted from paying school fees for their children as part of their employment package," the newspaper reported.
Tsvangirai said last week the unity government was broke and could not meet union demands for higher wages. All government employees, including Mugabe and Tsvangirai, are paid a monthly allowance of $100.
Meanwhile teachers have agreed to report for work when the country's new term starts on Tuesday, despite no deal having been reached on pay, teachers' representatives said on Monday.
The teachers had vowed to go on strike if their monthly salaries were not increased to US$454-per-month by Monday.
Raymond Majongwe, Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe said that "we have reason to believe in the efforts being led by (Education Minister David) Coltart".
"We have hope that the visits that are being made to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank, and (donations) by members of this government are meant to solve this problem," he added.
Meanwhile, Coltart told reporters on Monday that marking of last year's school examinations in Zimbabwe had ground to a halt because the government had failed to raise the $3.1m needed to pay for the task.
"I deeply regret this unacceptable situation," Coltart said.
"We have not secured the funds from the international donors including UNESCO," the minister added.
The IMF said on Monday that Zimbabwe required at least US$200m in budgetary support, and between US$200-300m for humanitarian assistance in the areas of food relief, health and education.
- Reuters - Sapa-dpa
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