The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) has condemned the alleged torture of pupils at a Harare school for failing to pay fees and urged government to take appropriate action against the headmaster.
BY CHARLES LAITON
According to parents, Glen View 1 High School headmaster Alois Maronga assaulted 94 children at the school accusing them of failing to pay fees on time.
In a statement yesterday following publication of the story by NewsDay, ZimRights described Maronga’s actions as tantamount to torture saying it was “a gross violation of children’s human rights”.
“The contract of tuition fees is between the parent and the school; hence the pupils are not affected, or bound by it, since they are legal minors,” ZimRights said.
“The government must, therefore, stop the victimisation of schoolchildren over tuition. ZimRights reminds school officials that corporal punishment is now closely regulated in Zimbabwe.”
The rights group said the treatment of the schoolchildren amounted to torture under international statutes.
“The assault, which qualifies to be torture by the United Nations (UN) definition, was a gross violation of children’s human rights. If anything, the new Constitution of Zimbabwe’s section 81 says every boy or girl below the age of 18 years has the right to education,” ZimRights said.
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“The UN defines the act of torture in the Article 1 (1) of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which however Zimbabwe is not a signatory to. Government must ratify the treaty and craft laws that outlaw torture.”
ZimRights also condemned government’s recent hike of “O” Level examination fees and the introduction of examination and registration fees for Grade 7 pupils.
“ZimRights on May 28, 2015, during a march in Harare, opposed exorbitant tuition fees as a deterrent to the attainment of the right to education by minors in Zimbabwe.
“In defiance of our call, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has implemented the hike in ‘O’ Level examination fees and introduction of Grade 7 examination and centre registration fees,” the NGO said.
