Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
GOVERNMENT, through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, has put brakes on the culture by school heads to prioritise attending luxurious workshops and conferences at the expense of investing funds in learning and infrastructure development at their institution.
School heads have of late been accused of splurging school funds to attend workshops, drawing significant amounts of cash from school coffers for their travel and subsistence allowances, while neglecting pressing requirements at their institutions.
Some school heads had stopped affiliating to National Association of Primary and Secondary Heads (NAPH and NASH) respectively, resulting in those with outstanding arrears being barred from participating in sporting, cultural and other extra-curricular activities, resultantly disadvantaging innocent learners and short-changing parents in the process.
School heads would allegedly push parents to pay school fees, but would refuse to remit statutory fees towards the Better Schools Programme of Zimbabwe (BSPZ), administered by the parent ministry to save funds to attend conferences where they pocket hefty allowances.
Some schools are reportedly operating without water as their boreholes have dried up owing to the prolonged dry spell.
Though the institutions have the capacity to drill deep boreholes on their own, they always declare incapacity as school heads tighten the purse to save money for their excursions.
In a memo addressed to all district schools inspectors (DSIs), acting Provincial Education Director (PED Manicaland), Mr Richard Gabaza, directed that only school heads without outstanding arrears will be allowed to attend future NAPH and NASH conferences in the resort city of Victoria Falls.
He further directed that school heads should first seek clearance from their DSIs before leaving their work stations for the jaunts.
“This minute is there to inform all Manicaland primary school heads who are to attend the conference in Victoria Falls from October 25 to 30, 2024, to adhere to the following: All heads to be fully affiliated to BSPZ and NAPH at all levels before going to the conference. Proof of affiliations to be seen by every DSI, and each conference delegate head must be cleared by the DSI before leaving the station.
“No head should attend conference as none delegate, and punitive measures shall be taken against truant heads. All DSIs must receive conference delegation lists before heads leave for the conference by Thursday, October 24, 2024.
Heads going to the conference must leave responsible personnel to manage schools,” reads the statement issued by Mr Gabaza.
Secretary-general of National Association of School Development Committees, Mr Ranganai Mupakati said there is need for a harmonious working relationship between School Development Committees, heads associations and the parent ministry.
He said conferences should be held at provincial level to cut costs and lessen the burden on parents.
“The issue of NAPH, NASH and BSPZ is a topical one in schools as the bulk of school fees are going to these bodies. Schools are generally receiving very low fees due to non-payment of fees by learners. We understand that there are dues that should be paid for sports and other activities.
“Then we have these conferences for school heads that are held annually in Victoria Falls, which, as parents, we are not sure if they are part and parcel of the ministry’s official programmes. Why should SDCs be forced to fund these conferences, considering that they exacerbate the financial burden in most schools? At times, our school heads must be man and women enough to feel for the parents and their schools.
“Why are school heads not holding these conferences in their respective provinces to avoid milking parents by centralising them? There is even greater need to suspend some of these workshops and conferences. There is need for coherence and good corporate governance in our schools to avoid these kind of things,” said Mr Mupakati.
Mr Mupakati said the directive to fund the trips has a negative impact on SDCs because they are the ones funding NAPH, BSPZ and the Victoria Falls conference.
This is despite the fact that there is no law that compels SDCs to affiliate to these bodies.
“It is the parents who are bearing the brunt through these affiliations. There is little involvement of parents in these activities despite being the funders through SDCs. Parents are demanding that bodies that take money from them should be audited. They also want to be involved in these bodies to ensure transparency and accountability,” said Mr Mupakati.
