Five teachers at Ndangababi Primary School in Cross Dete, Hwange District, were expelled by parents and guardians after they were accused of being incompetent, disobeying orders, and disrespecting traditional and community authorities.
According to the Chronicle, the dismissed teachers were only named as Messrs N T Ngwenya, Maphosa, Ndaguta, Ms Sigauke, and Ms Chisiwa.
Parents and guardians said that the teachers seldom ever taught since they spent much of their time on personal concerns, with Ms Chisiwa reportedly spending time at the Cross Dete Business Center selling second-hand clothes.
Parents also expressed concern and blamed the teachers for the school’s pass percentage, which fell sharply from 21% four years ago to 5% last year.
Parents, traditional elders, members of the Dete Residents Association, and representatives from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education all attended a meeting called by the school development committee last Friday.
The five instructors were given till Monday to depart the school after it was decided during the meeting that they should leave.
Officials from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education told the meeting that the affected teachers will be transferred to other schools.
11 teachers were initially targeted, but the other survivors survived the chop after they apologized in public and the community apparently decided to give them another chance after.
It is said that Mr G. Ngwenya, the school’s head, had trouble keeping them under control and that the school development committee (SDC) found it difficult to carry out its tasks.
Last year, parents submitted a petition to the government, which Chief Dingane-Nelukoba approved. The community chose to resolve the issue on its own after the government took too long to address it.
Two school heads have left the school in the past 10 years after a fallout with the teachers.
Due to parents withdrawing their children from Ndangababi Primary School, the institution’s enrollment fell from 627 last year to 512 this term.