Huambo – INADEC's representative in the province of Huambo, Joaquim Manuel, warned, on Tuesday, that the raise on tuition fees must be requested from the Ministry of Finance and must only be carried out if duly authorized, under penalty of criminal liability.
Speaking to ANGOP, the representative of the Angolan Institute for Consumer Protection (INADEC) said that many public and private institutions tend to pull up the tuition fees and emoluments unilaterally, clinging to a supposed readjustment, behavior that undermines power economic impact of families without prior notice.
Joaquim Manuel advised that public/private educational institutions have the responsibility to communicate to students and guardians, through appropriate channels, if they intend to touch on prices and any fees, three months before the academic year's kick off.
He said that conditioning the enrollment application to the payment of school bus, the September tuition fee, the acquisition of uniform or teaching material, would be a practice considered abusive, under the terms of paragraph a) of article 22 of the Defense Law of the Consumer.
Joaquim Manuel reported that during the current year's first semester, INADEC notified 80 complaints, of which 25 refer fees raising in public and private schools, presented to the institution by presented to the institution by Student's guardians.
For this academic year, the official announced that he will intensify the awareness campaign at educational institutions in the 11 municipalities of the province, in order to discourage such acts, which harm low-income families.
He said that the inspection brigades are already acting in accordance with some complaints that are reaching the institution, at this time that enrollment of students in many public and private institutions are taking place, for the 2024/2025 academic year's kick off. JSV/ALH/CF/DOJ
