Mukaro High School reopens

By The NewsDay | Jun. 3, 2016 | 2 Min read

GOVERNMENT has reopened the Roman Catholic-run Mukaro High School in Masvingo following its forced closure two weeks ago as the church demanded the transfer of two teachers accused of inciting the 2012 students’ strike.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora announced yesterday that the ministry met church representatives on Wednesday and agreed to reopen the school.

“The purpose of the meeting was to facilitate the resumption of classes in terms of the Education Act and restore normalcy in the interest of learners,” he said.

One of the resolutions arrived at during the meeting was that the school would reopen after government promised it would deal with the accused teachers.

“It was resolved that the issue of the teaching personnel is a matter of central government as the employer and can be dealt with by the ministry in accordance with appropriate regulations . . . It was also resolved that all learners should return to Mukaro High School with immediate effect and resume classes upon arrival,” Dokora said.

The minister warned that the Mukaro High School incident should not be a precedent for other schools as a way of settling differences. “The roundtable last night (Wednesday) went into the details of all these matters and after the meeting, everybody emerged the wiser that the education of children is paramount. It will not be a precedent, it will not be a pattern. Quite clearly everyone has to understand the purposes of setting up schools is to facilitate learners to attending and attaining educational qualifications,” Dokora said.

Primary and Secondary Education ministry acting secretary Rodgers Sisimayi, who also attended the roundtable, said the meeting had also looked into constitutional violations surrounding the closure of the school and ironed out the matters.