
Parents whose children attend Nyahumbi Secondary School in Ward 29 in Chevy South are complaining about a mentally ill teacher who they say remains at school despite erratic behavior supposedly caused by his condition.
The parents said they fear he may physically harm learners or community members as he is often seen wandering around when he is not in class, and are demanding that he be immediately removed from school.
Some parents who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they were afraid for their children because the teacher often attacked learners using explicit words, which they said could deteriorate into something worse.
“He only comes to class when he wants, and when he does, he always speaks obscenities to the learners. He barely teaches and we wonder why he is still in school when he barely teaches our children,” said a parent.
A fellow teacher at the school said that their colleague was a threat even to community members because he often roamed around in nearby villages, always speaking obscenities, adding that he was once seen at a local villager’s house imitating the prophet of the Apostolic Church.
“We now fear that he may be harmed in the villages he frequents, or he may end up violent. We also fear that because of his condition, he may rape children or women from the area,” the teacher said.
The sources added that the mentally ill person is being neglected by his family after accusations emerged that he possessed spells to obtain power and wealth. Some even believe that the mentioned spells are the ones that affect him.
Community members are said to have once organized a protest at the school to force him out, but failed to continue after threats of arrest.
One parent said: “We wanted to go and demonstrate at school in order to dismiss this teacher, but we ended up being advised not to do so, so we are now waiting for the responsible authorities to take the necessary measures.”
Evershine Ndungwe, Chivi District School Inspector, said he was aware of the issue, adding that his office had done its part because his papers were now in the district office.
“I have visited the school and seen him. However, he tends to get worse when he fails to take his medication. When he takes his medication religiously, you would never suspect that he has any mental health problems.
“We have also processed his papers and submitted them to the regional public service office, so we are waiting for their action because we want to transfer him to a mental health institution,” Ndungwe said.
He added that they tracked down his family and found his ex-wife, who told them that his condition worsened when he did not take his medication, and now that he was left alone, there was no one to remind him of that.
“When I arrived at school, his condition was stable, and since he was left alone, we tracked down his family and found his daughter and his ex-wife. The wife told us that they had separated because of his illness, because he used to turn violent whenever he saw her, and threatened to kill her.”
The sources said that the teacher has been at the school for nearly 10 years and is already in his late fifties.