THE future of at least 500 learners at a private school in Harare is hanging in the balance after the institution’s authorities reportedly expelled them for allegedly disrupting lessons.
According to sources, at least 40 pupils at Mother Patrick Convent Primary School in Mainway Meadows up to Grade 6 were served with letters of expulsion from the institution, with the school citing “disruption of the learning processes” as the reason for their expulsion.
According to letters gleaned by NewsDay and delivered to some of the pupils sent packing on December 2 this year, the authorities informed parents and guardians that their children had been expelled from the school due to their absence from school for more than a week.
“Your child has exceeded the allowable limit as per our school’s attendance policy.
“As a result, we regret to inform you that we are withdrawing your child from our school roll,” part of the letter written by acting head Eugenia Muketiwa read.
However, according to a week-long investigation and interactions with parents and guardians, the authorities withdrew the children after staff at the school downed tools over poor working conditions and unpaid salaries.
The strike, which began on November 19, was sparked by teachers’ demands for better working conditions, fair labour practices and payment of outstanding salaries and bonuses. The job action led to the expulsion of the students from school.
The teachers alleged that the school’s administration, which was led by the former headmistress Tendayi Kagurabadza, had failed to address their concerns, which forced parents and guardians to withdraw their children from the school.
- Parents, school authorities fight over teachers’ strike
- School threatens to expel 500 learners
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Meanwhile, the expulsions have fuelled the dispute between parents and the school authorities.
Parents and guardians expressed outrage and disappointment over the expulsions, which they claimed to be unfair and unjustified.
“This is a clear case of victimisation by the school administration. Our children are being punished for the actions of the teachers, which is not their fault,” one of the parents said.
Some of the parents, in interviews with NewsDay, revealed that they were forced to withdraw their children, who were loitering around the school with no one to look after them as the strike went on.
“We were shocked when the children, who returned to school this week, were served with expulsion letters for allegedly missing classes,” another parent said.
“How do they miss classes when the staff has been on strike for more than two weeks?
“We feel the children are being victimised while the school authorities are failing to attend to the challenges affecting the school.”
But amid the ongoing challenges, school authorities have assured parents of normalcy restoration and stability at the institution.
In a letter signed by the management board chairperson, identified only as Mr Matigimu, the authorities assured parents that they will take full responsibility for ensuring an enabling learning environment at the school.
“We acknowledge that the recent events may have fallen short of this expectation. We are committed to restoring normalcy and stability at our school at the earliest,” part of the letter read.
“We appreciate your patience, understanding and continued support during this challenging time.
“We are confident that together, we can overcome the current difficulties and restore Mother Patrick to its former glory.”
Matigimu also urged parents to return their children to school for the good of the institution.
“A school is not a school without the little ones. We encourage you to bring your children to school with immediate effect.
“In parallel, we are working tirelessly to engage with all stakeholders, including our teachers to resolve internal administrative matters,” he said.
But the chairperson pointed out a lack of transparency and open communication for causing misunderstanding among the school authorities and its stakeholders.
“We value transparency and open communication. Unfortunately, the lack of clear communication may have led to misunderstandings and concerns among you, our parents,” he said.
“We regret any distress this may have caused and want to assure you that we are committed to keeping you informed about all developments affecting our school going forward.”
Kagurabadza, Muketiwa and Matigimu were not readily available for comment as their phones were unreachable.
Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro recently said government was seized with the issue, with a team already deployed to investigate.
