HARTZELL High School Form Six pupils reportedly went on the rampage on Monday night and indiscriminately assaulted their Form Four juniors, while wantonly destroying furniture at the United Methodist Church-run institution.
It is understood that a demand by the Advanced-Level pupils
to have a separate dining room sparked the violence.
There was pandemonium at the school as the Form Six pupils
could hardly be restrained by security guards and staff members who were
present.
Manicaland Provincial Education Director, Mr Edward Shumba,
confirmed the incident, saying investigations were in progress.
“What I have gathered from the Mutasa District Schools
Inspector is that there was violence on Monday night at Hartzell High School.
The issue is still under investigation by authorities at the institution.
“It is not yet clear what triggered the skirmishes, but we
were told that a pupil feigned to have sustained a wound by smearing toothpaste
on his head, and sent a picture to his parents.
“We were also made to understand that Form Six pupils at
the school clashed with their Form Four counterparts, resulting in violent
scenes. However, the issue is still under investigation,” said Mr Shumba.
United Methodist Church education secretary, Reverend
Munyaradzi Timire yesterday (Thursday), said he could not comment on the matter
as he was still to be apprised of the skirmishes.
A well-placed source at the school said: “The issue started
with pupils clashing over a girlfriend. A Form Four pupil is alleged to have
snatched a Form Six girl from her boyfriend. The boyfriend is in Form Six, and
his counterparts felt that they were being disrespected by the Form Fours.
“Things came to a boil on Monday evening after the study
period. The pupils clashed resulting in the damaging of the fence, while a few
windowpanes were smashed. No one was injured except one young boy who fell
during the melee. He was not badly injured.”
Parents with pupils at the institution took to social media
platforms registering their displeasure over what they termed as deteriorating
standards of discipline at Hartzell High School.
Images of smashed windows, broken doors and injured pupils
went viral on different social media platforms this week.
It is sad that we are witnessing deteriorating discipline
standards at the school, and yet we have authorities who are being paid to
ensure our children are safe. We heard that a teacher at the school was
recently manhandled by pupils, and up to now we are yet to hear the outcome of
that case,” wrote one parent in a WhatsApp group.
Another parent wrote: “It is clear that these Form Six
pupils were under the influence of something.
“My opinion is that there is rampant drug abuse that is not
being curtailed within the school because such incidents will not happen just
like that.” Manica Post
0 comments:
Post a Comment