Acting Education Minister Kirsty Coventry has directed school heads to release Grade 7 results for all pupils including those whose parents have fees arrears.
Coventry made the call while addressing reporters in Harare on Friday. She said:
The ministry’s position is that education is the inalienable right of every child, while the charging of fees and levies is provided for by a Statutory Instrument, the responsibility for the payment for the fees is with the parent or guardian.
Heads of schools are directed to release any results that they may be withholding to enable the learners to proceed with their education without hindrance. Disregarding the directives given will have adverse consequences.
Secondary schools demand Grade 7 results from Form 1 applicants as a prerequisite for acceptance, and the withholding of results by some school heads has put pupils’ futures in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, with the Ministry announcing that online application for 2020 Form One places has been closed, thousands of pupils who have not yet accessed results have consequently been left out.