High Court Stops Peterhouse Boys High School From Expelling A Student
The High Court has stopped Peterhouse Boys High School from expelling a student who had been dismissed on misconduct allegations.
NewZimbabwe.com reports that this follows a successful application by the boy’s father, whose identity has been concealed on legal grounds.
The father complained that his son was missing out on lessons after a disciplinary hearing was conducted in their absence.
High Court judge, Justice Fatima Maxwell, said the parents should be given a chance to argue on behalf of their son. The judge said:
I find that in this case, the parents had not been invited to participate in the proceedings but to merely observe, therefore they cannot be said to have waived the right to challenge the proceedings.
Their status as observers distinguishes them from the applicants…one would have expected the school to have engaged the legal practitioners to indicate that the prior conduct of not proceeding after an objection would not follow.
I am persuaded that in the circumstances of his case, interim relief is granted. Consequently, the application is allowed.
The parents approached with approached the courts seeking readmission of their lower sixth student son who got in an altercation with the Housemaster last month, leading to his expulsion.
Due to the lack of a proper disciplinary hearing, the initial expulsion was declared null and void.
However, the parents allege that a few weeks later, they were summoned by the school for a disciplinary hearing before the school lawyer, which they objected to as they argued it was unprocedural.
They also objected to a second call to appear for another disciplinary hearing being chaired by an independent party.
The school responded, however, informing the parents that they had conducted a hearing thereby forcing the parents to seek legal assistance.
