Mucheke High School headmaster Vincent Maweni has barred
over 50 fully registered candidates from sitting for their June ZIMSEC
examinations after cancelling their names from the school’s entry form
statement citing Covid-19.
A headmaster does not have the authority to bar registered
candidates from writing their ZIMSEC exams. Most of the affected candidates are
students at the school.
Masvingo Province Education Director (PED) Zedius Chitiga
said he was investigating the matter.
The Mirror has it on good authority that Maweni, the school
bursar, deputy head and senior teachers have all been instructed to write
reports by the PED.
Maweni said he cancelled the candidates’ names because of
Covid-19 and referred further questions to the District Schools Inspector
(DSI); he however, failed to furnish The Mirror with the criteria he used to
select the candidates.
A ZIMSEC spokesperson told The Mirror that the candidates
are registered on their end and any misdemeanor should be handled by the
ministry of education.
A source told The Mirror that the candidates who are being
barred from writing their exams are being marked as absent on the attendance
register.
The source also said there is no clear criterion to how the
candidates’ were scrapped off the list as Maweni even scrapped children and
relatives of his own staff.
A disgruntled parent who spoke to The Mirror on condition
of anonymity said they only got to know of the situation on Monday last week
after their children were denied the right to collect their statement of entry.
“My daughter told me that he was barred from sitting for
her exam last week. I went to see the headmaster and he told me that his deputy
would bring back the registration refund. I am still waiting for any
explanation over the criteria used to select the candidates’,” said the source.
The June exams were registered at $190 per subject at the
beginning of the year and the money has since lost value.
A source at the school said it was absurd that Maweni plans
on reimbursing parents from school coffers when the registration fees went to
ZIMSEC.
“We sent a delegation to speak and understand his
standpoint on Friday but he scolded and simply told us that he cancelled
candidates’ names because of Covid-19.
“Now he is telling parents that he wants to reimburse them
from school coffers which is ridiculous because the registration fees went to
ZIMSEC, the school cannot incur losses because of his unwarranted behavior,”
said an SDC member who spoke on condition of anonymity. Masvingo Mirror
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