Wrong application of law in education sector condemned

The misapplication of education laws - highlighted by Chief Murinye’s blocking of Riverton Academy’s reopening in Masvingo and Beitbridge Municipality’s threat to shut down all unregistered schools - has been condemned as retrogressive and harmful to learners who lose valuable learning time when schools are closed.


Education analyst Dr Abigale Mupambi said the current approach, where the Education Act is used in ways that punish innocent learners, was unacceptable and required urgent review.

Following public outcry over Riverton Academy, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education intervened, resulting in the school being allowed to reopen. However, Mupambi said it was worrying that while the Masvingo issue had been resolved, Beitbridge Municipality was now threatening to close multiple schools.

“If the presidency of Masvingo Province is saying proceed because we respect learners, why should Beitbridge warn of closure - not of one school but many?” she said.

“What kind of laws are those? Good laws will act as bad laws if unfairly applied. Our children need to be protected because they are the ones who suffer in all this.”

Mupambi said Matabeleland was already suffering from educational challenges, and it was disturbing that authorities were threatening to close numerous schools instead of supporting them.

“Why close everything? Why are the ministers of Matabeleland South also not protecting their children? These laws must be looked into. If they are outdated, they must be removed - they are no longer workable,” she said.

She added that some provisions of the Education Act were “so, so, so awkward”, arguing that good laws applied unfairly become bad laws.

Beitbridge Municipality recently issued a notice warning all unregistered schools not to open for the new academic year until they regularise their operations with both the local authority and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. The municipality said it would launch a joint enforcement blitz with the ministry to shut down illegal institutions.

The move follows complaints from residents about the proliferation of unregistered schools in residential areas. In some cases, pupils from these institutions have been unable to sit for public examinations due to their schools’ unregistered status.

It is estimated that more than 20 unregistered private schools are operating across Beitbridge’s old and new suburbs.

“The Municipality of Beitbridge, with the support of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, will soon commence an enforcement operation to register schools,” the notice said.

The municipality said many institutions were operating without ministry registration, health and safety inspections, town‑planning permits or operating licences. Beitbridge district currently has more than 70 registered primary schools and 18 registered secondary schools.

The council urged all owners of unregistered institutions not to open for the upcoming term until they complete the regularisation process.

A comprehensive devolution legislative framework is being finalised, with the Devolution Bill expected in Parliament soon, in a shift expected to improve governance and service delivery.