'Asifuni Bumbulu' engulfs high school

Pupils from Ihlathi High School in Bulawayo were last Friday savagely assaulted by their teachers during an operation the teachers dubbed "Asifuni Bumbulu" meant to punish late comers.

The teachers were so aggressive that some of them went around Tshabalala suburb where the school is located fishing out late comers from the bushes where they were hiding.

The teachers who were driving in a twin cab would shove the pupils into the vehicle and dump them at the school gate where they received thorough hiding from fellow teachers.

The assailants used sticks and pieces of a hosepipe to assault the pupils before they were allowed into classes.

The Chronicle news crew witnessed one of the victims being assaulted by two teachers with his hands up and recorded the assault on video.

Another parent also recorded the beatings and provided The Chronicle with the video.

The teachers who were assaulting the pupils were shouting Asifuni Bumbulu, (we don't want nonsense). At one time there were five teachers at the gate, two who were assaulting the pupils and three others who were just shouting at them. Two others were patrolling the suburb in a twin cab rounding up the pupils. At one time, a male teacher who was driving out of the school yard shouted at his colleague who was assaulting pupils: "there is chaos in your class."

One video clip shows two male teachers manning the school gate, one armed with a stick while the other has a piece of a hospipe. Some of the pupils could be heard screaming while being assaulted.

The operation started at around 7:10 AM and went on until around 10AM.

Some angry parents called The Chronicle to report the incident.

A parent who refused to be named for fear that her child would be victimised said she was angered by the conduct of the teachers and questioned their professionalism.

"I just wonder how somebody can beat up a Form One pupil as if they are canning a criminal or delinquent youth. It was not my child that I saw being beaten but any person who knows the pain of child bearing cannot tolerate that," said the parent.

Speaking in a telephone interview, acting Bulawayo Provincial Education Director Mrs Olicah Khaira yesterday said corporal punishment is not allowed.

She said teachers who administer corporal punishment were committing a very serious crime and could be disciplined.

"Corporal punishment was outlawed a long time and if the reports are true, these teachers will be disciplined. This has not been reported to my office but we will investigate to establish the truth," said Mrs Khaira.

She said parents, pupils and other teachers should report any teacher who administers corporal punishment.

"We should respect the law as the department of education. We should use other methods to punish pupils and not corporal punishment. I will go to Ihlathi High School myself and see what is happening there," she said.

In March, a High Court Judge, Justice David Mangota said corporal punishment against children at school or at home by teachers, parents and guardians was outlawed as the practice is a contravention of the country's supreme laws.

Justice Mangota's ruling followed an application by a Harare parent, Linah-PFungwa, challenging corporal punishment after her Grade One child was subjected to beatings by her teacher last year.

"The imposition of corporal punishment and any form of physical punishment to children by any person or persons including teachers, parents or relatives is ultra vires the provision of section 81, 51 and 53 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe," said the judge.