Headmaster bashed by parent over enrolment

THE headmaster of Maranatha Adventist High School in Nketa, Bulawayo, was reportedly bashed by a parent after he refused to enrol pupils with more than six units for Form One.

Mr Zibusiso Lunga was reportedly bashed by an angry parent who could not stomach that his child with eight units could not be enrolled at the school.

When our news crew visited the school on Wednesday, police officers were visible on the ground, perhaps to give the head protection as there were also scores of parents who were at the school still trying to secure places for their children.

Close sources at the school said the incident left them tongue-tied as parents ran amok with some threatening to burn the school while some accused the head of nepotism as he only wants to enrol children who are Adventist.

"There were two men who were very bitter after their children with eight points could not secure places. One of them slapped the head and some male teachers who were nearby restrained him from harming the head and after the incident both men immediately left. The headmaster was even insulted by other angry parents who wanted their children to be enrolled at the school which has been doing well for these past years," said the source at the school.

Some parents said the school was too harsh because their children were best pupils in their schools after getting seven points. Parents said they were dismayed by the school's continuous refusal to relax its stance.

"It seems seven to 10 points are now a fail. My daughter got eight points at Grade Seven then she enrolled to a high school which got the best results in A-level and she is now at university. I am shocked to be told that my son with seven points is not good enough to be a Form One at Maranatha," said Mrs Thobekile Mthunzi, who was at the school trying to a secure a place for her son.

Some of the parents who are bitter are from Nketa where the school is located, who insist that their children should be given places even with eight points as their suburb houses the school.

Mr Lunga admitted that the school has set six points as a maximum entry point.

He said the person who came at the school and caused mayhem was a man who has a domestic dispute with one of the school teachers. He claimed that the man attacked him when he tried to calm him down.

He added that the demand for Form One places at the school has been so high that they have already enrolled the number of children they want.

"There is only one person who came here drunk looking for one of our teachers with whom they had a dispute. When we tried to engage the person to try and resolve the matter that's when he became violent. If what people claim is true, I could have asked for protection," said Mr Lunga.

"It is true that I was demanding only pupils with four to six points because this school is allowed to screen. I have been receiving a lot of pupils but we have to stick to our mandate. However, with the exception of a few, we can take pupils from this area." Efforts to get a comment from provincial education director Mr Dan Moyo and Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Dr Lazarus Dokora were fruitless.

Deputy Minister Professor Paul Mavhima referred all questions regarding Form One enrollment to Dr Dokora.