Zibusiso Dlamini
FATIMA High school in Matabeleland North is in trouble after it withheld ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Level examination results for almost six years for two children of war liberators over outstanding fees.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) wrote to the school demanding the release of results belonging to Wellington Nyoni and Sithembinkosi Ndlovu.
ZLHR said the results of the two former students were being withheld even though their outstanding fees had been settled by the government.
As part of government policy, children of war veterans have their fees paid for.
“In Lupane, we have asked authorities at Fatima High School to release ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examination results for Wellington Nyoni and ‘O’Level examination results for Sithembinkosi Ndlovu, which they are withholding as a way to induce payment of outstanding school fees.
“School authorities have been withholding results for Nyoni, who wrote his examinations in 2015 and 2017 respectively and for Ndlovu, who sat for her examination in 2016 claiming that the students’ parent Fransisca Ncube and guardian Lochi Stephen Ndlovu, who are liberation war veterans had not paid-up school fees and yet all along the children’s school fees was being paid by the governments,” wrote ZLHR lawyer Prisca Dube.
However, following an engagement with ZLHR, it later emerged that the school head had not been informed of the matter.
“The Fatima High School head only identified as B Moyo advised the human rights lawyer that he was not aware of the matter and requested that both Nyoni and Ndlovu should report at the school and see him personally to have the issues resolved,” Dube said.
In a bid to stop such incidents in future, Government early this year warned schools against withholding results arguing that the debt recovery process must be strictly between schools and parents, without involving the children.
