malvernmugadzikwa
Sunday Mail Reporter
FOURTEEN learners from two private schools failed to sit their Grade Seven final examinations after a headmaster and teacher at Domboramwari Primary School in Epworth, Harare, squandered their exam registration fees.
Grade Seven exams commenced on September 25 and end tomorrow.
The 14 learners from Skills Kids College and Praise Academy College failed to write their final exams after Domboramwari Primary School headmaster Gilbert Jagada (53) and teacher Tafadzwa Matsuro (43) allegedly misappropriated money paid as exam centre registration fees.
They reportedly pocketed US$735 paid by Ms Fortunate Mutetwa, the principal of Skills Kids College, and US$430 paid by Mr Prayer Gumbu, who heads Praise Academy College.
Matsuro and Jagada appeared in the Epworth Magistrates Court last week, charged with two counts of fraud and, alternatively, theft of trust property.
The two were not asked to plead when they appeared before magistrate Mrs Jesline Madaka, who remanded them out of custody on free bail to October 10 for trial.
The State, led by Mr Vincent Chidembo, told the court that Mr Mutetwa operates a college that does not have registration centre status for learners sitting Grade 7 exams and, thus, requested to register with Domboramwari Primary School.
From December 2022 to February this year, Ms Mutetwa gave Matsuro US$735 for Jagada to register her seven Grade 7 learners so that they would sit exams at the primary school.
However, on September 28, around 9am, when the seven pupils from Skills Kids College went to Domboramwari Primary School, the institution’s deputy headmaster, Mr Hosiah Machokoto, indicated that they were not registered.
Mr Machokoto then alerted the authorities.
Investigations later revealed that Jagada and Matsuro had not registered the seven pupils but converted the money for their own use.
On the second charge, the court heard that from February to September this year, Mr Gumbu, the principal of Praise Academy College, gave Matsuro US$430 for Jagada to register seven Grade 7 learners from his college.
It later emerged on September 28 that the seven were not registered and were writing exams under other learners’ names.
Subsequent investigations revealed that Matsuro and Jagada had not registered them as promised.
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