In an unexpected twist, Form 1 students at St Mary’s High School in Wedza find themselves sleeping on the floor, despite their parents having shelled out a hefty US$1,500 in fees.
Understandably, parents are fuming after getting wind of this surprising development.
St Mary’s High School is currently grappling with a crisis after enrolling a large number of students with some being forced to sleep on mattresses without bases.
Parents are not holding back their criticism, questioning the school’s wisdom in admitting a large number of students amid ongoing construction.
The headmaster of St. Mary’s High, known only as Mr. Dzvairo, has issued an apology for the inconvenience caused. He explained that the delay in the new hostel project was due to heavy rains.
As a temporary fix, the school hall was turned into a hostel to accommodate several Form 1 girls, overseen by the hostel warden. Mr. Dzvairo assured that the hostel, now at roof level, is nearing completion.
Apology and Explanations from Headmaster as St Mary’s Students Sleep on the Floor
In his apology, Mr. Dzvairo stated,
“May I take this opportunity to outline our current situation pertaining to our students’ welfare, especially the Form Ones. The school has enrolled 220 Form 1 girls and 120 boys so far. Our aim has been that all the Form 1 girls would be housed in the new hostel, once completed. Our target was to complete the new hostel by the end of December 2023; a target that failed because of heavy rains that we experienced. The project is now at roof level and we continue to pray that without further disturbances, the work would be completed soon. We are working flat out to complete our major project so that we can move our girls to the new hostel. May I therefore take this opportunity to sincerely apologise for all the inconveniences caused to our beloved learners and children.”
Despite this, parents remained dissatisfied and aired their grievances when contacted by a daily tabloid.
“Imagine, we paid US$1 500 plus an extra US$70, but our children are sleeping on the floor. Are all these monies we paid being accounted for?” said one parent.
Another parent said they were not sure if the hostel would be completed before the first term ended.
“We are not sure if the block under construction will be completed before the term ends. Why did they enrol so many students when they surely know there is construction in progress? This is unfair to us and our children,” the parent complained.
Source iHarare
