adminTHE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has said it will assign the Bulawayo provincial education director, Mr Dan Moyo, to investigate the confiscation and auctioning of cellphones belonging to pupils at Townsend High School.
Recently authorities at the school auctioned pupils’ mobile phones for as little as $20, a move that has irked some parents.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango said her office would want to get full details of the case before taking action.
Acknowledging that the move was illegal, she said: “I don’t have enough details of the matter yet. I will assign the PED to look into the matter and get the full details. It is only after gathering the accurate details that we can see what sort of action to take.
“Obviously there is a case because like it is being said cellphones were auctioned without the full knowledge of other parents. Mr (Dan) Moyo will look into the matter and appraise my office.”
The confiscation and subsequent auctioning of pupil’s cellphones comes after Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora said schools must allow pupils to bring cellphones and other mobile devices to school.
In February this year Dr Dokora opened debate when he encouraged parents to buy their children cellphones which they could bring to school as a way of acquainting themselves with technological advancements. Anti-school mobile phone use educationists, however, differed with Dr Dokora arguing that cellphones promoted limited learning, behavioural problems, raise the potential for cheating and the risk of theft.
The auctioning of cellphones at Townsend Girls High school saw some parents and teachers buying trendy smart phones for as little as $15. Some of the smart phones that were auctioned included Samsung S4, Blackberry, and Nokia Windows phones.
Some of the parents who bought cellphones at the auctions expressed shock at pornographic material they found stored in the gadgets.
Authorities at the school were not forthcoming to discuss the matter with this publication.
Online Reporter