Parents enraged on radio

25 Jan, 2019 - 00:01 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Morris Mtisi Education Correspondent
Parents in and around Mutare did not mince their words with the Provincial Education Director on the Diamond FM programme Head to — Head with MM.The words to describe the parents who called the radio to engage the PED are simple and succinct: angry, bitter, indignant, furious, irate, enraged, mad. They were all livid for the same reason. They felt betrayed, cheated, abused and abandoned by school authorities, specifically school teachers and school heads and school development committees conniving to strangle parents who are already paralysed by an unfriendly economy.

These, they said, seem to exist in a different Zimbabwe and not the real one where the economy is suffering from unjustified price hikes in almost everything money, which is extinct, can buy.

The infuriated parents mentioned a host of demands made by school heads and Teachers-in Charge as the New Year and term started: reams of bond paper, student groceries, floor polish and special exercise-book types. As if the stress made by the demands were not enough, the schools kept learners out of the classroom if they did not have the smallest item required by the school . . . even little things like ECD tambourines or children’s drums. Some schools, they said, stopped the parents from paying fees until these ancillary items were bought and threatened to cancel their children off the school register if they did not comply.

Talking to the hard-questioning Morris Mtisi on Diamond FM Radio on the programme Head-To-Head with MM, the Provincial Education Director Mr Shumba was on point, said the fuming PED, “All this is not allowed. The school’s job is to teach learners, not sell stationery, uniforms and other items. There are special entities licensed to sell items . . . not schools. In the event that schools want to assist, they cannot and must not force parents to buy anything from them.”

Responding to a question on forced student baggage: bond paper, groceries, floor polish and other such items, the PED did not mince his words: “All this is not allowed. Stop it!” He said without the sense of humour associated with ‘‘Stop it!’’

“If any parent is aggrieved by the school head, do not hesitate to get in touch with me. You will appreciate I have more than one thousand schools to attend to. I will hand you over to my District Inspectors to attend to you. But if you feel you have not received the best treatment, come back to me.” He gave listeners his cell phone numbers.

Responding to a listener’s question on the purpose and legitimacy of Civic Days in which learners were used to raise school funds, Mr Shumba said, “We have also learnt the hard way that Civic Days are not the best way of raising funds. I do not hesitate to say this also must now come to an end. If Civic Days are difficult to administer and justify, let us stop them. Simple.” He added.

One parent who was struggling with a lump of anger on his throat told the PED time to beat up some of these school heads had come.

To illustrate how serious he was with these unequivocal warnings and statements about unfairness in schools at the hands of school heads, Mr Shumba publicly ordered on radio school heads to have suggestion boxes at their schools and to display District Inspector’s  contact details, including cell phone numbers on the doors of their offices.

At the kind request of the Head-To-Head presenter on radio, the PED promised to appear more frequently on the exclusive Educational Radio Programme.

He acknowledged the need to answer more of the questions the public ask about schools and education in general.

Both Diamond FM Radio and The Manica Post thank the PED for the obligatory privilege he enjoys whenever he is available to address questions that require answers. It is a most welcome Public Relations obligation. That way the society and communities the PED serves are kept informed and educated on critical issues to do with the smooth running of education in Manicaland .

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