STUDENTS at Rio Tinto High School in Zhombe were left stranded last Thursday after one of their boarding hostels had its roof blown off by strong winds.
BLESSED MHLANGA STAFF REPORTER The incident came hardly a month after fire caused by an electrical fault razed down another hostel at the school.
School Development Committee (SDC) chairman Valentine Makombe said the latest incident had affected 40 boys.
“There was a storm at the school which blew off the roof of a dormitory last week and as if the gods have turned their back on the school we also lost a classroom block which also had its roof blown off on a separate day,” Makombe said.
He said 100 students were now cramped in a hostel meant to accommodate 40 students.
Students who spoke to NewsDay on condition they were not named described the sleeping arrangement as unhygienic.
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“We are packed as you can see and it is very difficult to near impossible to keep this room clean because the passage is crowded and beds cannot be moved. If one goes to take a bath, they have to change their clothes in there because there is no space to accommodate that in this room,” said one student.
The turn of events at the school have seen parents turn their anger at acting headmistress Kumbirai Mapesa whom they accused of sorcery and are now demanding that she be axed.
Mapesa declined to comment over the allegations.
“I will not entertain the Press. You first have to go and get a letter from the ministry so that I can talk to you or allow you to visit the affected area. You can go and write what you want because I don’t care what happens to the image of the school or mine,” she said.
School treasurer Owen Matava said the crisis needed serious and urgent attention before a health crisis hits the school.
“This is a matter that needs the business community to come in and rescue the situation because the money needed to repair this damage is not immediately available in the school accounts. We also need a report to see if the other buildings are still safe,” Matava said.
The Zibagwe Rural District Council-owned boarding school was built in 1989.