Despite the Ministry of Education, Art, and Culture's stance on parents' voluntary contributions, some parents say schools are not complying.

The ministry says any funding initiatives introduced at schools are voluntary and should only be done in consultation and agreement with parents or guardians.

In an effort to promote free and inclusive primary and secondary education, the government took over the task of providing essential resources, including funding for each learner, to relieve parents from paying the compulsory school development fund.

But some parents feel this dream is far from reality, as they are still forced to pay fees for items such as toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and stationery.

Parents also complained about a lack of accountability and transparency from some schools, as money paid cannot be accounted for, nor do they present their financial reports.

The Deputy Executive Director in the Education Ministry, Edda Bohn, underscored that there are activities at school that enrich the curriculum and its implementation.

Hence, she says, the requests for parents to contribute are voluntary. 

"A voluntary contribution is seen as the semantics of the word voluntary. It is out of the parents' and guardians' own will to contribute to the resources of a particular school. And at times, the resources provided by the government are not enough to deliver the quality education that we are aspiring to have."

Parents have also been urged to report cases of schools forcing parents to unwillingly make contributions.