Taken from the Daily News
THE Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has petitioned the Ministry of Education officials over a teacher who allegedly forced pupils to do Zanu PF slogans.
In a letter dated November 3, 2014, addressed to the minister of Primary and Secondary Education and District Education Officer for Gokwe District and Provincial Education Officer for Midlands Province, Tafadzwa Christmas, who is representing his client identified as N. T. Phiri said the teacher was abusing the children and infringing on their rights.
According to the letter, the pupils are enrolled at Sikwiti Primary School. Phiri through the letter claims the teacher only identified as Chinyama taught the pupils political slogans since last year. He would further ask the pupils to teach their parents the slogans that they would have learnt at school, the letter claims.
“…we are advised, one (Mr) Chinyama, a teacher at the said school, has been abusing our client’s children by requiring them to chant Zanu PF slogans during school hours,” Christmas said.
Phiri reportedly approached the then school headmaster Norman Ruzvidzo, seeking to have the issue addressed. However, Ruzvidzo was “unceremoniously sent away in February this year”.
“The trend has continued under the current headmaster and our client has no choice but is forced to make this complaint before approaching any court of law to force (Mr) Chinyama to stop the abuse and enforce the children’s rights.
“(Mr) Chinyama’s conduct is a clear violation of the constitutional provisions especially sections 67 political right, 75 right to education, 56 right to equality and non-discrimination and in particular section 81 (1)(e), (f) and (h) rights of children,” Christmas said.
Christmas said schools are not political forums and that political issues had no place in the current school curriculum.
