BY SAMUEL NJINGA IN MASVINGO
Chagwiza primary school parents in Gutu are up in arms with the school headmaster following a countless number of allegations on issues to do with poor administration. Disgruntled parents within the school community allege that the headmaster, Tobaiwa Mutsendekwa, expelled most of the pupils from the school at the beginning of this year over nonpayment of school fees. Some of the parents argue that the school authorities expelled even those pupils whose parents had paid half the gazetted school fees. It is said that the school authorities proceeded to deny parents an opportunity to make a payment plan with regards to how the outstanding balance was going to be paid.
Situated approximately thirty kilometres in the South Western side of Gutu Mupandawana Town, Chagwiza primary school has got 5 classroom blocks and a total enrolment of 286 pupils as well as a composition of 10 teachers. Most of the parents of these pupils are subsistence farmers while a few rely on the meagre salary since they are civil servants. Following a chain of disputes with the headmaster over various issues, the majority of the parents have resorted to withdrawing their children from the school, preferring to take them to Ndahwi Primary School which is a distance of more than seven kilometres from some of the catchment areas. The school pass rate has long since been dismally dropping, something that has been described as attributed to these differences.
Parents who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said that they raised their concern with the local District Schools Inspector, Ronald Muganhu, but nothing was done.
“We raised this issue with our local district office but there is nothing meaningful coming forth for us as yet. We are planning to stage some demonstrations against the headmaster if this dispute is not amicably resolved. We cannot allow such things to keep on happening” said one of the parents who preferred to be only identified as Choga.
Masvingo Provincial Education Director, Shylet Mhike, has for the past week adamantly maintained that she has not yet received anything to do with this issue. Director for Communication and Information Advocacy, Taungana Ndoro, said that the Ministry is charging headmasters over such issues.
“We are charging headmasters who are doing that. Our education regulations and our and our policy directives including our Constitution do not allow them to send away pupils for nonpayment of school fees. We urge most of the parents to come forward and give us the evidence because we need evidence when we charge people. We act on every information that we receive” said Ndoro.