adminRobbers are aware of this and only last Friday they pounced at Nashville High School in Gweru and got away with about $14 000 which was stolen from parents who were waiting to pay examination fees and from school authorities. Two armed robbers are said to have stormed the school at about 1.30pm and conducted body searches of parents who were queuing to pay examination fees and took away cash and cellphones.
The pair then reportedly took away $4 805 cash from the school assistant bursar Mr Jonathan Mugari and thereafter force-marched Mr Mugari to the bursar’s office where they ordered him to open the cash box and they took another $3 157. According to the police the preliminary investigations indicated that about $14 000 was stolen from the parents and school authorities.
The robbers reportedly used the school truck that was laden with food for boarders which they met on its way to the school as a getaway car. The school truck was yesterday reported to have been recovered.
The incident at Nashville should be a wake up call to school authorities to revert to the old system whereby most of the school funds were paid at the banks. Paying money directly to the school is a security risk not only for the school officials, but the parents as well as pupils.
Robbers can be trigger- happy thereby endangering the lives of school staff, that of pupils and parents paying the money. Had parents or the officials at Nashville attempted to resist the robbers, some of them could have been killed because the robbers were armed with a pistol.
The system of paying money at the banks is not only convenient for parents who are able to pay the money at the branches nearest to them but also eliminates the risk of school authorities handling a lot of cash.
It is a fact that not all the parents with children attending Nashville High School are resident in Gweru so by using the school account at the bank, those from outside Gweru need not travel to Gweru to make payments but can pay the money at the bank branches nearest to them.
The police have repeatedly warned members of the public, school authorities included, against keeping large amounts of money as this attracts robbers. Many schools have been asking parents to pay examination fees directly at the schools but as we have already indicated this money can again be paid at banks and the school authorities can thereafter issue out a cheque to the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council thereby avoid handling large amounts of cash.
It is our fervent hope that school authorities are going to move swiftly to put systems in place so that parents pay school fees, examination fees and levies at banks instead of directly at the schools.
Schools, it has to be appreciated, cannot provide the necessary security to safeguard those making the payments and the school staff handling the money so the way forward is to avoid handling cash.
We do not understand the reasons why school authorities are reluctant to use banks now that cash at most banks is readily available on request.
The use of banks makes accounting for school funds easy hence school authorities should adopt this system which is not only safe but also eliminates the risk of handling a lot of cash.
Online Reporter