NO REPORT CARDS, OWING PUPILS PROMOTE THEMSELVES

MBABANE – Following the directive by the Minister of Education and Training Lady Mabuza, that head teachers should not send owing pupils home, some learners returned to their respective schools and promoted themselves to the next class.

Last month, the minister issued a directive to all head teachers in the country to stop sending home learners who owed school fees, but instead should negotiate with parents for payment terms. She said anyone who would send learners home for owing school fees would face serious consequences. Following her directive, Mabuza said government could not afford to hire teachers who would not take instructions.

Promoted

Somnjalose High School is among the schools that found themselves having to deal with an unprecedented number of pupils who promoted themselves to the next class. This is because they could not get their report cards, which would have informed them about their academic performance. In an interview with Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services (EBIS), the Head teacher of the school, Macandza Mamba, said while they were busy registering new learners at the school, other pupils who had not settled their fees and could not get their report cards, promoted themselves to the next class. Mamba said they were shocked to discover that some learners had proceeded to the following class without having obtained their report cards.

Deserved

He said these learners were sent home to collect their report cards to prove that they deserved to proceed to another grade. These, he said, were the pupils who had outstanding balances and did not receive their end-of-year report cards. As a result, he stated that the learners did not have a clue on whether they had passed or not. On another note, he said there were learners who were not accepted in the school, but just went straight to classrooms without having been officially registered. Mamba said the school committee was dealing with the issue and removing all pupils who were at the school unlawfully.

When reached for comment on the issue, Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Education and Training Bhekithemba Gama, said the pupils needed to be accommodated in the same class they were in last year until they received their results, because they had no clue whether they needed to proceed or repeat the same grade. Gama said last year’s school fees balances should be cleared by the parents in order to spare their children from the frustration. He said parents who were not cooperative in settling their children’s fees were causing confusion.

Responsible

The PS said parents should be responsible and do what was expected of them. He said the guardians should rather negotiate with the schools to pay in instalments and get their children’s report cards. Gama said the ministry’s stand was clear that no learner was expected to proceed to the next class if he/she had failed the previous grade. “If the pupil did not get a report card, which exam did they pass?” questioned the PS. He said parents who had not paid fees were acting irresponsibly. Gama stated that if it was difficult for them to settle outstanding fees for their children, how would they even afford to pay fees for the current year. The PS said the ministry would start taking legal action against parents who neglected their responsibility, as education was a right for every child.

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