News / National
Pupils denied results over lost textbook
03 Mar 2016 at 05:27hrs | Views
GWAMBE Secondary School in Bulilima District is holding onto November 2015 ZIMSEC Ordinary Level results for pupils over a textbook which parents say was allegedly misplaced by a teacher.
Disgruntled parents who spoke to The Chronicle said school authorities had ordered each child to pay $5 to get their results. The school had only one copy of the missing Agriculture book.
Makabongwe Tshuma, whose child's results have not been released, said pupils were not allowed to take the textbook in question home as there was only one copy. "The Agriculture teacher misplaced the textbook and now we're being ordered to pay for it. Our children weren't allowed access to that book as the whole class had one copy. Now we're being forced to pay for that book and to make matters worse, they're withholding results to get us to pay the money,'' said Tshuma.
He said he had paid his child's school and examination fees and his child was entitled to the results.
Another parent, Siphile Ndlovu, said guardians of former O'Level pupils were shocked when their children were turned back without collecting results – denying them an opportunity to advance to A' Level.
A senior official at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the textbook went missing during the second term but the teacher only reported the matter during exam time. He said it was procedural for pupils to replace missing school property. He claimed that each pupil had been ordered to pay $2 and not $5.
The official said 27 pupils sat for O' Level exams last year and only about 10 had paid the required $2 and collected their results.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora says it is illegal for schools to withhold exam results, and some schools have since been forced to release them after threats of legal action.
Disgruntled parents who spoke to The Chronicle said school authorities had ordered each child to pay $5 to get their results. The school had only one copy of the missing Agriculture book.
Makabongwe Tshuma, whose child's results have not been released, said pupils were not allowed to take the textbook in question home as there was only one copy. "The Agriculture teacher misplaced the textbook and now we're being ordered to pay for it. Our children weren't allowed access to that book as the whole class had one copy. Now we're being forced to pay for that book and to make matters worse, they're withholding results to get us to pay the money,'' said Tshuma.
He said he had paid his child's school and examination fees and his child was entitled to the results.
A senior official at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the textbook went missing during the second term but the teacher only reported the matter during exam time. He said it was procedural for pupils to replace missing school property. He claimed that each pupil had been ordered to pay $2 and not $5.
The official said 27 pupils sat for O' Level exams last year and only about 10 had paid the required $2 and collected their results.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora says it is illegal for schools to withhold exam results, and some schools have since been forced to release them after threats of legal action.
Source - chronicle
