Headmaster accused of organising anti-teacher demos

A headmistress at Senga Primary School in Gweru has been accused of mobilising local youths and groundsmen at the school to stage demonstrations against a teacher that she wanted removed from the school.

The head, Ms Miedzo Meke, is reported to have fallen out with the teacher, Ms Chipo Chipedza, after she wrote a letter of complaint against her to the district office some time last year.

According to teachers at the school, Ms Meke no longer wants to work with Ms Chipedza and has written several letters to the Midlands Provincial Education Director's office seeking to have her transferred.

"She has failed to have the teacher transferred to another school and is now employing new tactics to try and push her out," said a teacher at the school.

"She has been organising demonstrations, hiring unemployed youths who will be drinking beer from a nearby beerhall to stage demos against the teacher."

The teacher said the situation was so tense at the school that the tiff between their colleague and the head was affecting the day-to-day running of the school.

"The challenge is that the head doesn't want other teachers to associate with this teacher. If you are seen talking to her, you also become an enemy of the headmistress," said another teacher.

The teachers said the head recently wrote letters to parents inviting them to come to the school so that they could stage a demo against the teacher.

They said the demo was a flop after few parents turned up.

The Herald is in possession of one of the letters that were given to pupils to take to their parents.