….Parents clash with Shakashe admin, SDC over bus levy
By Beverly Bizeki
Some parents whose children learn at council-run Shakashe Primary School in Masvingo are up in arms with the school administration, School Development Council (SDC) and responsible authority over the school’s intention to purchase a school bus accusing the latter of misplaced priorities.
The parents are accusing the admin and the SDC of imposing a bus levy on them despite their refusal saying purchasing a bus could not be a top priority as other areas needed attention.
In a leaked and unsigned petition seen by this publication, about 52 parents allegedly wrote a petition against the procurement of a bus which they have said was done without the approval of parents, asking for cancellation of the tender as well as an investigation of the school.
“As disgruntled parents once again we are kindly asking for cancellation of that tender and wish the ministry to send its investigation team to Shakashe Primary School, Masvingo and dig deeper into this matter as soon as possible. We want an investigation team from another province, not our Masvingo team to come and assess the status of our school and submit true findings,” reads part of the petition.
Allegations are that sometime last year, the SDC and administration called for a meeting with parents with the agenda being bus procurement which did not sit well with some parents who argued that the school had other projects to work on including the construction of more classroom blocks.
“Issues of concern are; the school does not have enough classrooms forcing pupils to do hot sitting and learning under trees. Some are even missing classes as the hot sitting starts from grades 1 to 6. Some grades 1 to 3 sometimes forget what time they should be at school because they wake up and spend half of the day at home playing and miss class.
“When they come back from school they will be very dirty because they will be sitting on the ground where there is dust and when it is winter time they will be exposed to cold weather sitting on verandas which is high risk for children to contract pneumonia. During the rainy season they are at risk of being struck by lightning not to mention being soaked in rainwater along with their belongings,” reads part of the petition.
The parents are said to have tasked the SDC and administration to enquire with the bank and gather information on acquiring a loan for the purchase of a bus but did not bring feedback to the parents who then assumed the issue had been dropped.
“However on July 4, 2023 SDC and administration sent us some letters stating the responsible ministry and authority had approved the bus levy in three phases which starts from the second term of 2023 and the first term of 2024. All this was done without any feedback to parents. We called for an urgent meeting which was blocked by the school authorities who called the police to turn away parents on that day. At this juncture we presumed the bus issue was a closed chapter,” reads part of the letter.
The parents also indicated that they were not happy with the total amount of money that will be paid for the bus which is US$210 000.
Contacted for a comment, Masvingo City Mayor Councilor Alec Tabe, representing the responsible authority, said the petition was not signed as is supposed to be and said the authority usually does due process before giving a nod on the school’s projects.
“The SDC must be in agreement with parents before embarking on a project. However due processes were done and a consensus was reached. Relevant stakeholders were consulted. As long as due processes were done we can only work with what was agreed with both parties at their meetings. Our schools however must prioritise development,” said Tabe.
Masvingo District Schools Inspector Ishmael Chigaba said he could not comment on the matter as he was yet to receive the petition as he was only hearing about it for the first time from the reporter.
Masvingo Provincial Education Director (PED) Shylatte Mhike said she received the alleged petition but it was not directed to her office as she was simply copied on the fourth position after the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE), Resident Minister, and MoPSE permanent secretary.
“I received it but it was not addressed to my office, so we waited for the office that it was addressed to. I was simply copied meaning I was just being notified of what was going on. So the relevant office will action it and advise us so that we take our responsible action,” said Mhike.
SDC chairperson Last Magwati dismissed the issue and said the petition was not a proper one and lacked parents’ signatures.
“What you have is not a petition; there are no signatures, and the person who wrote that just sat on his computer and produced that telling himself he is representing parents. Ask him what that document is,” said Magwati.
The petition was also copied to Ministry of Local Government, the Director of Housing Masvingo City Council, the Mayor, the Masvingo Town Clerk and the Zimbabwe Ant-Corruption Commission in that order.
