New Regulations Prohibit Learners From Visiting Teachers' Quarters, Ensure Pregnant Pupils Remain In School
The government has implemented new regulations that prohibit schoolchildren from visiting teachers’ quarters without a valid reason.
No student will be denied access to education due to non-payment of fees or levies, the absence of a birth certificate, pregnancy, or low academic performance.
These measures are part of a set of regulations gazetted by Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Torerayi Moyo, on Friday, 14 February, through Statutory Instrument 13 of 2025.
The new regulations aim to address societal issues such as drug abuse, sexual harassment, and bullying.
Section 12 stipulates that if a girl becomes pregnant, the school is required to provide psycho-social support to assist her through the process. It reads:
Where a girl who is a pupil at a school becomes pregnant, the school head — (a) shall inform the parents of the girl as soon as possible if they are not already aware of the pregnancy, (b) shall facilitate psycho-social supportive services to the girl and parent, (c) if the girl and her parents so wish, the girl shall be permitted to remain at school for as long as possible before the delivery of her child, and to return thereafter as soon as her health and the health of her child permit it.
Section 14 of the regulations prohibits students from visiting teachers’ quarters. It reads:
14 (1) No pupils must be allowed at the school staff quarters. (2) Every school shall develop guidelines for the pupils to access staff offices and base rooms to ensure safety of the pupils. (3) Subsection (1) shall not apply where the pupil is a child or relative of the teacher or member of staff whose living-quarters he or she enters and resides in.
Section 18 grants school heads the authority to suspend a student for up to 14 days if they reasonably suspect the student of serious misconduct, allowing time for investigations. It reads:
No pupil may be suspended from school without first being granted a reasonable opportunity, with the support of his or her parents, to make representations with respect to the proposed suspension.
Section 20 prohibits the exclusion of students from school due to non-payment of any fees or levies. However, it requires parents and guardians to settle school fees and levies before the start of each new term. Reads the regulations:
Basic education is compulsory and, if the parents of the pupil cannot afford the tuition fees and levies at a Government school, the State shall assist, within the limits of the resources available to it, in providing that education.
Admission of children into Government schools; No school head shall exclude a child of school-going age from enrolment at a Government school solely on the ground that the child does not have a birth certificate.
No child of school-going age shall be denied admission into basic education in Government schools based on the quality of results he or she possesses.
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