Sumbawanga — THE Mpanda District Education Department has reported for action ten headmasters of secondary schools to the Teachers' Services Department for enrolling 44 students who failed their primary school national examinations in Standard VII.

As a result, the 44 students have been sent home while the Teachers' Services Department probes the ten headmasters accused of foul play. Mpanda District Education Office, Mr Venance Nyamwale told this paper that all the ten headmasters have been reported to the services department after a special team of senior officials from the district discovered gross irregularities in the enrolling of the 44 students.

He mentioned the secondary schools accused of involvement in the scandal as Usevya, Mamba, Kasokolo, Mpanda Ndogo, Ikola, Kabungu, Inyonga, Sitalike, Machimboni and that of Mishamo refugee settlement. Mr Nyamwale noted that the special team was formed following directives from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and investigated 23 secondary schools in the district, out of which 10 were found to have enrolled students who failed their examinations.

The investigation was conducted by the special team from July 13 to August 2, this year. He expounded that out of the 44 students, five were studying in Form I, four were studying in Form II and had been officially registered and sat for national examinations just last week, 13 were in Form III and 14 were found studying in Form IV.

According to preliminary findings of the special team, all the 44 students failed their national standard VII examinations and that their names and pictures do not appear in the book that keeps records of pupils who passed the exams. "It is too early to say this but there is speculation that the pupils who failed are related in some way to the headmasters of the schools.

At the moment we should allow the teachers' services department to conduct its own investigation and come with a decision," he said. Mr Nyamwale also admitted that the special team had already submitted its report to the Chief Education Inspector for Southern Highland Zone in Mbeya since August, this year.