Dikili pupils to write exams despite stolen fees

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Reporter
GRADE Seven learners at Dikili Primary School in Tsholotsho district, Matabeleland North, will not be barred from writing final examinations next term despite the theft of R24 000, that was meant for registration.

Parents and guardians with Grade Seven learners at the school had been having sleepless nights since the robbery occurred as they were unsure if their kids would be able to sit for the exams.

However, the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has assured them that all the affected learners will write examinations.

“The candidates who were registered will not be prejudiced, they will sit for their examinations,” said Zimsec spokesperson Ms Nicky Dlamini in response to an inquiry from Chronicle. Tsholotsho district’s second oldest primary school that was built four years after Mathe Primary School in 1914, Dikili Primary School was hit by burglars last month.

Police sources said the theft was a highly suspicious case of a planned but poorly executed inside job as there was no forced entry into the headmaster’s office as well as to the strong room where the cash box was kept.

A security guard at Dikili Secondary School, Mr Roger Madebe Mpofu, who is also the School Development Committee (SDC) chairperson, found the stolen cash box at the school sports fields a day after the robbery. It only had R540, according to the police. When the robbery was discovered, police picked the school headmaster, a Mr Ngwenya and his deputy, one Ms Ncube for questioning. They released them after spending the night in police cells at Tsholotsho Police Station.

Police are still convinced that the burglary was master-minded in-house as there was no sign of forced entry, suggesting that the suspect or suspects either had the original or duplicate keys. There is now another school of thought that whoever masterminded the break-in may also have been someone trying to fix the school head or administration.

“This person knew that if there are no signs of a forced entry, suspicion will naturally fall on the person or persons who kept the keys, but the question is can the school headmaster be this shallow to break into his office and steal examination fees, knowing fully well that he will naturally be the prime suspect?

“Look, if the headmaster wanted to execute a robbery, he most certainly would have left evidence of forced entry to divert attention from himself, not what happened at that school,” said a criminal law expert, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Police have appealed to anyone who may have information that may lead to the apprehension of whoever executed the robbery to contact their nearest police station and confidentiality was guaranteed.

Last term, robbers broke into the secondary school and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. The case is still under investigation and no arrests have been made.