Eleven (11) Grade 7 learners at Kana Primary School in Lupane reportedly failed to write scheduled Zimbabwe School Examination Council (ZIMSEC) exams after the school head turned them away due to unpaid tuition fees.
CITE reported sources at the school as saying the learners failed to write the exams after the headmaster “evicted” them from the school grounds. Said the source:
On Monday, we learned that 11 learners in Grade 7 did not sit for their examinations after they were sent away for not paying school fees.
We didn’t have the energy to ask the headmaster, but we knew that he broke the government’s policy.
However, when contacted by CITE, the school headmaster, Thomas Manda denied these allegations and insisted no learners were sent away. He said:
Right now, all the learners are writing their exams, no one chased away the learners. I have been writing notices to parents reminding them about the payment of fees.
At the moment I am now compiling the names of the village heads where these parents live so that they can take action.
Manda said there are some individuals who are peddling falsehoods to tarnish the school’s reputation. He said:
There is an Education Amendment Act where the President says we should deal with the parents and not the learners. Thus, this is the procedure we are taking.
Parents are like that, when you tell them you are taking legal channels, they become angry instead of coming to the school to speak to authorities.
The headmaster conceded that some Grade 7 candidates were not writing examinations but stressed that it was not because they were barred by the school over tuition arrears. He said:
Right now, the children are writing, but there are some who are absent, they absconded on their own, having thought of that by themselves. But some parents didn’t come to us, they just became angry.
ZIMSEC spokesperson Nicky Dlamini told CITE that they had not received an official report that learners failed to write their grade seven examination at Kana Primary School. She added:
Once learners register for an examination, they must sit for that examination.
Director of Communications and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Taungana Ndoro said:
It is illegal to chase away a child from sitting for a ZIMSEC examination after they have paid their examination fees. That position has not changed.
Arguably, Zimbabwean parents are notorious for not paying their children’s school fees and this forces school authorities to take drastic measures to ensure that parents fulfill their obligations.
More: Pindula News