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The school disciplinary committee has since drafted letters of suspension and the parents of children involved are supposed to collect them from the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) offices, the owners of the school.
Nine pupils were suspended and several others punished last week for allegedly engaging in sexual activities at the school.
The nine are four boys and five girls, eight of them in Form Four and one in Upper Six at the school, situated 68km from Bulawayo.
The sex scandal occurred on several occasions between 26 August and 9 September when Form Fours and Upper Six pupils had gone for holiday crash lessons.
Parents who phoned Chronicle offices yesterday said the conduct of the pupils was deplorable.
“I am a parent and a former teacher and this is a sad thing especially when we take schools to be a second home for our children where they should be safeguarded from such things,” said a parent on condition of anonymity.
Another parent said it was unfair to blame the children alone when teachers also did not play their role.
“I do not condone such behaviour, in this case it is not only children who are to blame. It should be understood that once they get a chance they could do such things and that happened when teachers were not at school. Suspending the pupils is not fair and instead the school head should be punished as well because he abandoned his duty to protect and guard the pupils.
“Why did he allow lessons to go on when his staff was not at school? The head should as a teacher have taken precautionary measures,” said the parent.
The provincial education director for Matabeleland North Province, Mrs Boithatelo Mnguni, said the pupils were expected to report back to the school during the first week of October for the final verdict according to Circular P 35.
“The letters of suspension have been drafted and the school is in the process of sending them to parents of the children. The letters I think will be collected from the church office for everyone’s convenience. The first child was suspended on Wednesday last week.
“Each case was treated separately, which is why we did not give a blanket date for their return to school,” said Mrs Mnguni.
Sources from the school said the scandal involved 16 boys and an unknown number of girls who would leave their hostels and have sex in Form Two hostels which were not occupied during that time.
Online Reporter