The ManicaPost
Ray Bande and Luthando Mapepa
LEARNING ground to a halt at Rimbi High School in Chipinge on Tuesday as angry and toyi-toying students and parents took to the streets demanding to know the whereabouts of the school bus. Last year in August, the bus developed a mechanical fault and was taken to Harare for repairs. More than 1 000 students and parents flocked to Rimbi Township — along Chipinge-Chiredzi road — singing “tinoda bhazi redu gen’a”.
The angry students and parents raised a litany of allegations against the school authorities, chief among them was the immediate clarification of the whereabouts of bus last seen at the school last August. The demonstrators claimed that they were paying a bus fee but no children were benefiting from it. The demo started early morning when a group of students barricaded some roads linking to the school.
They proceeded to lock the main gate of the school and threatened any student and staff trying to enter the school yard. After a while local parents then joined the demo singing songs denouncing the school authorities for short changing parents. Students carried placards denouncing the school administration “for hiding the school bus”.
Some of the placards read: “We want our bus as early as yesterday, Enough is enough, Where is our bus since August 2017”
Normalcy returned around mid day after parents addressed the students, assuring them that they would hold a meeting with school authorities.
“Everything is now under control after we agreed with parents for a meeting to discuss the issue .I cannot shed more light on this issue because we need to go for a meeting first this afternoon(Wednesday).Call me later today for a full comment on our position of the school bus, “ said the school SDC chairman Mr Douglas Mlambo-Chibhamu.
An angry parent who requested anonymity said the school is short-changing the parents by not coming out in the open on the whereabouts of the school bus.
“The school administration should come clean on the whereabouts of the bus. The bus disappeared last August but now we are in another year without it. It cannot make sense to pay the bus fee which is not there,” he said.
Mr Desire Dube, a local parent, told The Manica Post that the school head Mr Phineas Mundeta had to call police to contain the situation.
“The school head had to call police to deal with the matter. Police officers then managed to enter into the school yard with the staff to deliberate on the goings-on,” he said.
Mr Musutani Mutseyami, who also has a child learning at Rimbi High School, chronicled events leading to the demonstration.
“The issue was about the bus which parents contributed to buy. The bus which was bought was not the one agreed with the parents. This caused problems. The bus then was used by a neighbouring school head (name withheld) that used to hire it out to several clients.
“That also raised parents’ eyebrows. The bus then had a breakdown since last year and that school is failing to repair it. The bus is said to be in Harare for repairs and as a result the students and the community demanded to know if the bus is still there or something had happened to it.
Manicaland provincial education director Mr Edward Shumba confirmed the incident.
“I was briefed about the events that happened at Rimbi High School. I was told that the students resorted to demonstrating against authorities because of a school bus that went for repairs last year and has not yet been returned to the school. I have since assigned the district school inspector to look into matter and as we speak he is on the ground,” said Mr Shumba.
The Students locked school gates and no one, including teachers were allowed to enter. Efforts to get a comment from Mr Mundeta were fruitless as his mobile number was constantly unreachable.
