School heads suspended…. Audits claim casualties at Milton, Townsend

By Auxilia Katongomara

BULAWAYO – The heads of Milton and Townsend high schools in Bulawayo have been suspended on allegations of abuse of office. They were suspended on Monday following audits by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

Townsend High School headmistress Millicent Moyo was suspended for contravening the Public Finance Management Act and the Treasury Instructions Act after auctioning pupils’ cellphones without permission.

Last week, the ministry instructed the school to recover the auctioned phones and return them to their owners.

Milton High School head William Ncube and his deputy Nosizi Muleya were suspended after a recent audit conducted by the ministry allegedly exposed embezzlement of funds.

Teachers at the school who cannot be named for professional reasons said the ministry has since replaced the two.

“The head and his deputy were here on Friday but we were told that they’ve since been suspended and a new head has already started work at school. Rumour has it that they were suspended following an audit conducted by the ministry a few weeks ago,” said the teacher.

The teacher said the district’s education officer Jane Ndebele on Monday introduced the new school’s head and deputy to the staff. The new school heads were a male teacher, Mazibuko and Philile, a lady.

Another teacher claimed that Ndebele warned the teachers to keep the development a secret.

“During the introduction we were given a stern warning that we mustn’t talk to the media concerning the matter particularly The Chronicle,” said the teacher.

Pupils at Milton High and Townsend Girls High confirmed the absence of their school heads.

Deputy provincial education director responsible for secondary schools Donatus Moyo confirmed the suspensions but declined to give details.

He referred The Chronicle to the deputy provincial education director Mathias Luphahla who was unreachable.

“Yes it’s true but I can’t give details, come tomorrow morning and talk to Mr Luphahla,” said Moyo.

Bulawayo Provincial Education officer, Dan Moyo said he could not comment as he was out of office.

Ncube is not new to controversy as he was once almost attacked by parents and teachers when he was head at Luveve High School.

In 2011, parents alleged that the school’s administration, made up of the headmaster Ncube, the deputy headmistress, Thobekile Dube and other senior teachers embezzled about $6,000.

They accused the school officials of lying to the School Development Committee that they had bought a kombi for the school for $10,900.

They allegedly also told the SDC that they had paid value added tax of $547,50 on the purchase.

Subsequent investigations however, showed that the vehicle was bought for $5,500 and VAT was only $250.

In 2013, at the same school, 20 teachers allegedly stormed Ncube’s office demanding an explanation on why they were left out of an incentives recipient list.

Ncube allegedly disappeared from the office when he heard that the angry teachers were baying for his blood.

He reportedly decided to “punish” the teachers for not attending a staff meeting by withholding their incentives.

Townsend Girls High conducted the controversial auction about three weeks ago where pupils’ phones were sold for a song.

The auction saw parents, teachers and any local who managed to sneak into the school development committee meeting buying modern smart phones like Samsung S4s, Blackberries, Android and Nokia Windows phones for as little as $15 with the most expensive going for $20.

Normally smart phones range between $100 and $500.

Dan Moyo last week said: “As civil servants, the school authorities are governed by the law hence what they did is in clear violation of a number of laws which include the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury Instructions Act.”

He said they were supposed to declare the cellphones to the ministry before seeking permission from the Finance Ministry to conduct such a sale.

“But they ignored all this and thought they could do as they wish,” he said. The Chronicle