School fee payment made easy with new technology

Zoop Mobile Solutions chief executive officer Manzi Rwegasira (centre) addresses journalists during the announcement of SchoolPesa expanded service in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Others are company’s sales officers Esther Lema (left) and Nyamagesa Laban. PHOTO | AIKA KIMARO   

By Victor Karega  

In Summary

• At the same time, the initiative will reduce long queues often found in banking halls as parents seek to pay school fees.

Dar es Salaam. An innovation by a local firm set to help parents and guardians with school going children to save the time they spend on paying fees has been extended as more schools have joined in.

Under the innovation, parents pay tuition and other school expenses electronically to private schools linked to the service.

Zoop Mobile Solutions yesterday announced in Dar es Salaam an extension of its SchoolPesa product to cover more schools and colleges.

The service, powered by M-Pesa, will soon go countrywide, according to the Zoop chief executive officer Manzi Rwegasira.

“Parents can pay fees from the comfort of their homes and in that way spend the time on other economic activities. This will also help improve efficiency,” he told journalists yesterday.

At the same time, the initiative will reduce long queues often found in banking halls as parents seek to pay school fees.

The service works in such a way that parents have access to receipts for payments they make through an online portal. Zoop’s sales representative Esther Lema said the service also allows parents to view any school-related payments that are due, as well as confirm payments have been processed.

She explained that students will be given identity numbers that allow Zoop to safely and securely track all payments as well as given online and printable receipts and SMS payment conformation. Ms Lema said all that parends need is to open the M-Pesa menu (*150#) to sign up and choose the appropriate type of payment they want to make.