THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is investigating a Glen View High 1 headmaster for allegedly beating up students whose parents had not paid school fees.
By Feluna Nleya
The alleged incident happened on January 30 this year.
Harare provincial education director Edward Shumba yesterday confirmed receiving the report on the incident and said investigations were being conducted. “I have received that report and we sent a team of officers to investigate,” Shumba said. “I cannot comment fully now because I am waiting for a report from the investigators so as to know what really transpired at the school.”
However, a parent with a child at the school told NewsDay that the headmaster, Kenneth Maronga, clapped his daughter due to non-payment of fees. “My daughter was clapped by the headmaster because I had not paid the school levy,” the parent said. “I approached the school with $70, but they refused to take it, saying that they needed the whole amount of $140, so I ended up not paying the levy.”
The parent, who cannot be named for fear her daughter could be victimised, said on January 30 when he decided to visit the school, he found his daughter in tears. Upon enquiry, the daughter told him that she had been clapped by the headmaster for failing to pay the levy.
“This did not go well with me because headmasters are not allowed to beat up students, worse still if it is because of school fees. Is it my daughter’s fault that I have not paid the fees?” the parent fumed. “I want the ministry to get to the bottom of this issue and deal with the headmaster because this is not acceptable.”
Parents said the headmaster had resorted to beating the children up as he could not send them away after a directive from Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora that no child should be sent back home for failing to pay school levies.
