adminIn our Saturday Chronicle issue we published a heart-rending front page story highlighting the plight of the two brothers. The two boys dropped out of school two years ago when their parents separated.
Being a divorcee their mother had been moving from place to place with the children because of financial challenges until they dropped out of school.
It is even more disturbing that the schools, which fall under the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, are defying a standing Government rule that allows children who would have dropped out of school for different reasons to be re-enrolled.
According to Education Director for Bulawayo Province, Mr Dan Moyo, schools were not allowed to deny anyone a place for learning.
He said this was in line with the Government education policy of “back to school” for every child who dropped out of school.
“The Ministry has a policy of back to school for all children who dropped out of school. All those who could not continue with their education at any stage should be allowed back into class if they seek to do so,” said Mr Moyo.
But five Bulawayo primary schools in the western suburbs blatantly flouted the Government policy.
The schools should be named and investigated for their outrageous actions.
Honestly how does the two boys become a bad influence on their classmates or schoolmates who mostly will be a year or two younger than them? Those who started Grade One when they were six years old will be 11 years old when in Grade Six while those who started Grade One when seven years old will be 12 years old when in Grade Six. So what bad influence can a 13-year-old bring to bear on 11-year olds and 12-year olds.
This is a clear sign of denying the two boys their right to education at a time when Government has been urging schools not to turn away pupils who were late in paying school fees.
Last year the High Court in Bulawayo ruled that sending children who would not have paid school fees away was a violation of the Child Protection and Adoption Act. We strongly believe the schools that denied the two brothers places are also in violation of the Child Protection and Adoption Act.
The predicament of the two brothers came to light at a recent workshop organised by the Justice for Children Trust, a non-governmental organisation promoting the protection of children’s rights.
“We are handling a case of two minor children aged 13 and 14 who are failing to secure places for Grade Six and Seven. They have approached five schools around Bulawayo’s suburbs but the authorities have denied them places.
“The argument by the school authorities is that they are now too old to be in primary school and that they would interfere with the development of younger children. They have been told that since they spent two years without going to school, they might have associated with bad people and would influence other pupils,” reads the document prepared by Justice for Children Trust.
The non-governmental organisation says they are waiting for the mother of the two boys to lodge a formal complaint and then take up the matter.
But we believe even if the mother does not make a formal complaint, the case is worth taking up and correcting the injustice that these two innocent boys are being subjected to.
It is not the fault of the two young boys that their parents had some misunderstanding and ended up divorcing. They, like any other child in Zimbabwe, Africa and the world at large deserve better.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter