Chief Murinye was right: Parents fume over Riverton Academy’s shocking school fees increase without approval

Parents and guardians at Riverton Westview in Masvingo have accused the school of imposing a sharp increase in fees ahead of the third term, reviving concerns previously raised by Chief Murinye about whether local families would ever be able to afford the institution.

The latest dispute centres on a letter written by an Ad-Hoc Committee of Parents and Guardians to the school authorities. The committee says fees have been increased from US$1,250 to US$1,700 for the third term, adding US$450 to the amount families are expected to pay at a time when many households are already struggling with rising costs.

The parents describe the adjustment as irregular and say the school has not shown them proof that the increase received the required approval. They claim the institution made two separate changes to its fees without following the approval process involving the National Competitiveness Commission through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

The committee cited Section 21 of the Education Act (Chapter 25:04), saying the required procedure should have been followed before the new charges were introduced. The parents’ letter, signed by Dr Tembo, asks why the school has not provided documents confirming that both increases were authorised.

The figures contained in the complaint show that the fees have risen twice since the beginning of 2026. First-term fees were allegedly increased from US$1,000 to US$1,250. The third-term charge has now been raised again, from US$1,250 to US$1,700. Taken together, the committee says parents are facing a total increase of US$700 since the start of the year.

For families with more than one child at the school, the effect is considerably heavier. A parent with two children would have to find an additional US$900 for the third-term increase alone if both pupils are charged the new amount. The committee says the school should have clearly explained the basis of the adjustments and allowed parents to participate in discussions before asking them to meet the higher bill.

The parents also question why their concerns have not received a response from the administration. They say the school has not allowed a school development committee to help resolve the disagreement between parents and management. In their view, excluding such a body has left families without a formal channel through which they can challenge the new fees or seek an explanation of how the money will be used.

The complaint has gained added force because Chief Murinye had already warned that the school’s charges could place it beyond the reach of people living in the surrounding communities. The traditional leader, whose birth name is Ephias Munodawafa, previously objected to the establishment and operation of the Riverton Academy campus in the area. He argued that local residents would not benefit from a school that they could not afford, even if it had been built in their neighbourhood.

That warning now sits at the centre of the parents’ anger. The new increase, they say, has made the school even more distant from the families it was expected to serve. What was presented as an educational investment for the area is being questioned by parents who say the fees are rising faster than their ability to pay them.

The fees dispute follows a much wider confrontation over the school’s construction, opening and relationship with the surrounding community. Earlier in 2026, Chief Murinye blocked the entrance to a newly established Riverton boarding school, preventing parents from taking their children into the institution at the start of term. His vehicle was placed across the road, creating long queues and forcing some parents to turn back before police intervened and restored access.

The chief said the school had been built without his permission and questioned whether the project had the necessary paperwork. The disagreement was also linked to claims that the institution had been constructed on grazing land. The school’s owner, Philimon Mutangiri, rejected the allegations and accused the chief of making demands connected to the project.

Mutangiri said he had bought a transformer worth about US$7,000 after the chief allegedly demanded that his homestead be connected to electricity. He further alleged that the chief later wanted the school to sign an agreement guaranteeing free enrolment for all his children. The school rejected that demand, according to the account of the dispute.

The standoff prompted the intervention of Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira. The minister said the province did not encourage illegal work, but stated that applications and approvals were in place. He also said construction had started before the paperwork was completed.

“We do not encourage illegal work. As a province, we follow the legal procedures of the government and the development that is encouraged by the President.”

Chadzamira added: “The paperwork is in order. The applications and the approval are there. It is just that the construction of the school has preceded the paperwork.”

The institution was subsequently allowed to operate as a satellite school while outstanding documentation and registration matters were being finalised. It opened with about 180 boarding pupils, while approximately 30 local children were reported to be benefiting from flexible payment arrangements described as part of the school’s community reinvestment programme.

The school’s Murinye campus occupies about 2.5 hectares. Mutangiri has said the land belonged to his family and that permission to use it had been obtained from local village heads. Chief Murinye continued to question whether the development had passed through the required planning and administrative channels.

The school’s future in the community has therefore been tied to two unresolved questions: whether the institution is properly established and whether it is serving the people who live around it. The parents’ letter has now added a third concern — whether the charges being demanded from families have been approved through the required process.

For parents, the immediate issue is not only the size of the increase but also the manner in which it was imposed. They want the school to explain the two adjustments, produce evidence of approval and reopen discussions through a recognised parents’ committee. They also want the administration to answer why families were expected to accept a third-term charge of US$1,700 without a clear public explanation.

Chief Murinye’s earlier complaint that the school would be unaffordable to local residents has consequently become part of the current fees battle. The parents’ allegations suggest that the concern he raised about access is no longer an abstract warning. With the annual cost climbing by US$700 since January, families now say they are being asked to pay for a private education project whose benefits may be out of reach for the community around it.

The dispute has moved from questions about land and construction to the cost of keeping children in the classroom. Unless the school responds to the committee’s letter and addresses the approval concerns, the fee increase is likely to remain a major source of tension between the administration and the families whose children attend Riverton Westview.