adminPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
THREE school heads in Gweru have been suspended for allegedly embezzling funds.
The heads of Chikumbiro Primary School, Mkoba 3 and Nkululeko high schools were implicated in the financial rot following audits by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education last month.
Mkoba 3 High School headmaster Ronnie Munhenzwa and his Nkululeko High counterpart Jealous Sungwa were allegedly served with suspension letters on November 2.
Ministry sources said Tariro Matongo, the head of Chikumbiro Primary School received her letter last week. The trio was suspended after a recent audit conducted by the ministry allegedly exposed misappropriation of funds in schools.
Midlands Provincial Education Director, Agnes Gudo confirmed the suspension of the three school heads.
She, however, did not divulge the amount involved.
“The heads for Mkoba 3 secondary, Nkululeko high school and Chikumbiro primary school have been suspended facing allegations of fraud,” she said.
Last month in Bulawayo Milton High School head William Ncube and his deputy Nosizi Muleya, were suspended for alleged abuse of funds following audits by the Ministry.
Townsend High School headmistress Millicent Moyo was censured for contravening the Public Finance Management Act and the Treasury Instructions Act after auctioning pupils’ cellphones without permission.
Forensic audits ordered by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education have revealed that school authorities across the country could have embezzled millions of dollars from levies paid by parents.
According to the report, about 1,800 schools (18 percent) have been audited and the exercise has unearthed massive doctoring of accounts documents to conceal the shenanigans.
The auditors head office in Harare, the provinces and districts conducted are conducting the exercise.
Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Professor Paul Mavhima, confirmed that the audits unearthed massive theft of funds by school authorities. He said about $1 billion was raised by schools through levies every year.
Prof Mavhima said if misappropriation was allowed to continue, it would result in schools failing to undertake infrastructure development.
He said in order for the government to plug the loopholes, there was a need to audit all the schools since the audit indicated that misappropriation was rampant. He said the anomalies were picked in both urban and rural schools.
Online Reporter