The State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Joseph Murekeraho, has warned all schools in the country against increasing fees.

Most schools around the country are due to start their first term on Monday.

Murekeraho issued the warning on Thursday at Lycee du Kigali during a one-day meeting with 600 head teachers from various secondary schools in the country.

"How could someone decide to increase school fees without any consent from parents or the Ministry of Education which has the right to approve that?” Murekeraho queried.

At the same meeting, head teachers had appealed for an increase on the current funding of Frw92 per day for each student’s consumption cost.

But Murekeraho told them: "Follow the right criteria in which many of you had a big role to put in place to harmonise the sector-wide education effort.”

The minister said that since schools are mandated to generate more financial resources to subside their government budget, they would increase fees after unanimous decision from the parents.

He advised that schools should first seek parents’ consent on increasing fees and then the ministry allow them to fix an appropriate amount that could be affordable to all students.

Eden Mfitumufasha, the head teacher of Lycee Catholique St. Alain (ACEDI), supported the minister by saying that the mutually fixed fee increment would save head teachers from the public accusations that they are the solely initiators of the idea.

He said that since schools are competing against each other for best performing students, such a unanimously decided fee rise would not let some students be disadvantaged.

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