adminSenior Reporter
TWENTY-TWO grade Six pupils in Kambuzuma, Harare last week failed to write their end of year Content examination after the papers were seized by feuding housing cooperative committee members following a misunderstanding with teachers over use of the school name.The school is located at Joshua Nkomo Housing Cooperative Society, between Mufakose and Kambuzuma and the committee members and one Bishop Konono have been involved in a long-standing ownership wrangle over the school which has 375 pupils.
The matter is pending at the High Court. The incident came after the teachers gave the pupils an examination paper which bore the disputed school name St Barbara Primary School instead of Joshua Nkomo Community School.
Committee members want the school to be named Joshua Nkomo Community School while Bishop Konono who helped construct it, want it to become a private school called St Barbara Primary since he claims ownership.
Cde Cecilia Ngwenya, the cooperative’s supervisory chairperson yesterday confirmed the incident.
She said the pupils have, however, managed to write all their end of year examinations and were expected to complete them tomorrow (Thursday).
“As the committee, last Monday we went to the school making routine checks on whether the pupils were writing examinations or not.
That is when we discovered that the pupils had been given the question paper written the name St Barbara Primary,” she said.
Cde Ngwenya said this did not go down well with them since there was a High Court order issued on November 12, barring Bishop Konono and five others from interfering with any administration activities at the school.
She said they then asked the teachers about the question paper and later asked the pupils to stop writing.
“We did this in order to make changes on the question paper. The pupils complied,” she said.
Cde Ngwenya said they proceeded to Marimba Police Station after realising that Bishop Konono and his five other accomplices were in contempt of court.
The matter was resolved and a new set of question papers were brought to the school for the pupils to continue writing their examinations.
They are writing examinations from the High Glen-Mufakose education district. Cde Ngwenya said the school was built in 2011 after they approached the Apostolic Council of Churches of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) to help them after four of their children had been hit and killed by cars while crossing the road, coming from schools in nearby suburbs.
She said ACCZ then brought them Bishop Konono who built the school.
Cde Ngwenya alleged that Bishop Konono now wanted to take over the school which was not part of their agreement as they wanted it to be run by the community.
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