Linda Mujuru
Vungu- Aspiring Grade seven candidates at Mnyamana Primary School were left counting wasted effort after the school headmaster barred them from sitting for their final examinations, in a development that riled the emotions of parents and other stakeholders.
The parents accuse the school headmaster, Knowledge Mpofu of violating the rights of children by using his own discretion to stop a selected few from sitting for their examinations despite the fact that they had been allowed to register with the Zimbabwe School examination council (ZIMSEC).
According to parents, Mpofu barred pupils from writing their exams citing that they were not prepared.
“l was shocked when my son returned from school without writing his exams, he said the headmaster told him that he was not good enough to sit for final exams.
“My son registered to write grade seven examinations that commenced on the 7th of October 2014 but now he is just staying at home doing nothing” said Skangezile Moyo of Vungu.
Knowledge Mpofu, the headmaster of Mnyamana Primary school refuted these allegations stating that these children were in the special class and they had not been given a go ahead to sit for their examinations.
However, the parents said that their children were not in the said special class and were performing well in their studies.
“My son was good in his studies, l was shocked to hear that he was classified not eligible to write his exams and the headmaster did not even bother to communicate to us” said Thandekile Sibanda.
According to the Zimbabwe Constitution, children have the right to, among other things, health, choice and education.
Such a situation is one of Zimbabwe’s stories of children in rural areas where children’s rights are abused and the guardians don’t know proper procedures to take to bring justice to such issues.
A research carried out by The Humanian organisation revealed that nearly 15% of Zimbabwean children do not attend school. Consequently, even if they are able to register successfully, most children are quickly forced to abandon their studies.
