By Wiseman Nyika
Masvingo provincial education director, Zedius Chitiga, has directed all schools to shelve their planned sporting activities and ferry people to President Mnangagwa rally penciled for this Friday.
Initially most schools both Primary and Secondary were scheduled to hold ball games across the province.
In a statement dated 13 June, communicated via WhatsApp platform, school heads were urged to take heed of the directive.
“Attention Ladies and Gentlemen: All sporting activities under NAPH/NASH scheduled for Friday 15 June, 2018 have been canceled by order of the PED. Secondly, all schools with buses are requested to ferry people to Masvingo on Friday for a presidential rally on Friday 15 June. All this is from the PED. I hope this is clear to all heads.”
In separate interviews, various school teachers in the province slammed this interruption arguing its something they were not expecting especially under the so called new dispensation.
A teacher, who requested anonymity at the Reformed Church of Zimbabwe run Pamushana High confirmed that their bus has been ordered to carry people to Masvingo for the rally.
“Yes its true we have received that directive and we will oblige as we can’t be seen fighting the powers that be, and to make matters worse think you know that our headmaster is a Zanu PF candidate in the forthcoming elections, so that makes it even more obvious that we will send our bus to Masvingo,” said the teacher.
“Its something that we didn’t expect under this new leadership,” he added.
Johnson Madhuku is the Pamushana High head and Zanu PF parliamentary candidate for Bikita east.
Another teacher from Zaka district, identified only as Edison weighed in saying they have been forced to release pupils, who were in camp for the Friday games, to return home.
“We had kids in camp for the Friday games and we had to send them back home,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from both the Provincial education office and Masvingo Zanu PF leadership failed. Ezra Chadzamira the provincial chair’s phone went unanswered and the PED was said to be in a meeting.
