Zimpapers Logo

Minister Dokora

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Reporter
SOME schools in Bulawayo have defied a government directive banning holiday extra lessons, with teachers yesterday conducting lessons.
A visit by Chronicle news crew to a number of schools that include Founders, Montrose, Sizane, and Pumula high schools showed that lessons were in full swing.
Other schools tried to evade the authorities by renting private properties some of which did not provide a conducive learning environment.
Announcing the ban on extra lessons just before the end of the first school term, the government said the 13 weeks allocated to every school calendar were adequate for pupils to complete their syllabi.

Recently, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said that schools’ administrators and teachers were using additional lessons to fleece parents of their hard-earned money.

Pupils from Mpopoma who spoke to the Chronicle news crew said they were not paying any fees for their lessons, but those coming from other schools were being made to pay.

“Those who are paying are coming from other schools. Some are charged between $5 and $15 depending on the subject. Those studying history pay $5 while those doing Maths and Science subjects pay up to $15,” said one of the pupils.

Mpopoma High holiday school lessons were being conducted at Black Mfolosi Youth Centre where imbube music was being played in the background.
The centre does not have proper furniture and pupils rely on plastic chairs with no desks.

The news crew also caught up with one of the teachers who said they chose private premises after the government banned the lessons.
“This is our project as the government banned schools from conducting holiday lessons,” he said.

Form Four pupils from Sizane said they were continuing with their syllabus while their Form Threes said they were behind in the history syllabus.
“We volunteered to come during holidays as we did not attend history lessons during the term. The subject was not in our time table,” said a group of pupils who had just knocked off.

Bulawayo provincial education director Dan Moyo said his office was not aware of the schools’ activities.
Last week, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe vowed to defy the government directive.

Dr Dokora warned that anyone caught opposing the directive risked being dismissed from the service.