Parents up in arms with school over prescribed groceries for boarding students

Parents of students at Mtshabezi High School in Gwanda are up in arms with school authorities over what they called little food groceries their children will be allowed to bring to school.

According to parents who approached Bulawayo24, the school decided on a food list and quantities permitted to be brought to school by their children without consultation. The parents claim that the amount of food stuff that the children can be allowed to take to school is very little and will "starve their children."

The Brethren In Christ Church ran school changes $460 school fees per term and provides learners, both boarding and out of campus with three meals per day. The main diet at the school is basically pap and an alternate of beans and beef substituted on some days by vegetables or rice with chicken.

Parents however send their children to school with extra food stuff mostly luxuries that include cereals, tinned foods and concentrate juice. Parents claim that they buy their children the extra food because their children always complain of the "poor diet" at the school. At the close of last term, the school circulated a letter to parents specifying the amount and type of extra food that their children will be allowed to bring to the school. The list made available to Bulawayo24 instructs parents to limit their children's groceries to be as follows for a term per child;

3kgs Loose Biscuits, 4 litres concentrated juice, 750ml peanut butter, 1 packet sweets, 1kg Powdered Milk, 3kg mixed fruits and a pack of 20 packets of Maputi.

The instruction on the news letter says that the food stuff can be divided into three and brought to the school in three batches over the term.

The parents who approached Bulawayo 24 on condition of anonymity claim that the prescribing of food stuff to be brought to school was never agreed at any parents meeting but just a decision made by the school authorities.

"We had a parents meeting recently but none of this was agreed all we see is an instruction from the school," said one parent.

The parent added that the limit on the quantities and range of the grocery was too small and will starve their children at school.

"Our children have their dinner at 5pm and go for evening studies until 8 or 9pm so by the time the get to bed they will be hungry this is why they need to take with them extra food," added the parent.

Asked in a separate interview, another parent contradicted with the concerns of the other parents claiming that the move is noble and for the good of the school. The parent even went on to insist that the issue of reduced food stuffs was agreed on at the schools SDA meeting in Bulawayo at the beginning of the year.

"I support this move by the school authorities 100%," said the seemingly delighted parent.

"Our children go to school to learn not to picnic or banquet."

"We agreed on this at the meeting held in Bulawayo at the beginning of the year and parents who are complaining are those who don't attend meetings," he added.

Another parent who identified himself as Clement Nduna Ndlovu also praised the school for coming up with the prescribed grocery list as it makes children feel equal at school making concentration on learning easier," he said.

Nduna added that some parents were over doing for the children which ended up disturbing their learning.

"Can you imagine a child coming to school with two or three trunks. One full of clothing and the other just full of food that's ridiculous and makes children from poor families feel small and hopeless."

Comment could not immediately be obtained from the headmaster nor the SDA chairman.