Tensions erupted during a meeting on Monday involving parents and guardians of learners at Lukhanyiso Primary School in the Mpopoma suburb of Bulawayo after it emerged that school authorities had secretly made a US$150 loan that was debited from the institution’s General Purpose Fund (GPF) account.
The meeting was held primarily to address some of the pressing issues at the school, which included clarifying the position of learners subject to the government’s Basic Education Assessment Module (BEAM) programme.
This was after the school’s deputy headteacher, Ms Sekangelini Moyo, announced last year in December that the school would not accept learners under BEAM starting this year.
Parents directed their anger at Ms Moyo after the school principal, Mr Aaron Mango, told the meeting that his deputy had misdirected herself as there had been no official communication from the ministry.
After a lengthy and tension-filled discussion over the matter, temperatures reached boiling point when a parent asked if money loaned to a member of the School Development Committee (SDC), Mr Davison Chikaka, had been repaid.
Distraught parents demanded to know why the school authorities decided to withdraw school funds without consultation.
“I learned that there was an agreement signed as proof that the money was handed over to Mr. Chikaka, but when I asked for that agreement, no one from the school management was willing to avail it until I got the document from Mr. Chikaka,” said SDC Chairman Mr. Emmanuel Chukwu. .
“I asked the school principal and his deputy why they did not consult me, let alone attach my signature to get the money, but I was told that the GPF does not require the signature of a member of the Securities Depository Center.”
Mr. Shoko produced the agreement document and gave it to the parents.
The document, in possession of the Chronicle, states: “Agreement between Lukhanyiso GPF and D Chikaka (SDC Treasurer) ID No. 70-110458T-70. D Chikaka was loaned US$150 from Lukhanyiso Primary School GPF on 17/04/2023 It will be paid on 05/07/2023.
The document contains the signatures of Mr. Chikaka, the headmaster of the school, and his deputy and school trustee, P. Shokwu. “Despite the illegality of this whole deal, Mr. Chikaka did not honor his contract because he only paid the money back in December, eight months later. However, what is strange about the whole matter is that Mr. Chikaka said he never received cash.
He claimed to have received 10 boxes of tomatoes worth US$150. The question now is, where did the $150 that was withdrawn from school funds go?”
Mr. Chikaka admitted to the parents that he only received 10 boxes, and not the money.
One parent said: “The government needs to step in and if the money can actually be withdrawn in this way, it shows that this could be the tip of the iceberg. “More could happen.”
This is not the first time Lukhanyiso Primary School has been hit by controversy after a substandard bus was purchased last year prompting the High Council for Development to demand an investigation into the matter. Announce
