Zimbabwe: Elite Schools Lomagundi, Gateway Dragged to Court for Withholding Pupils' Results Over Tuition Fee Arrears

13 February 2024
New Zimbabwe (London)

Elite schools Lomagundi College and Gateway High School are up in arms with parents whose children were denied their examination results over tuition fee arrears.

The two students respectively sat for Ordinary and Advanced Level Cambridge examinations in 2023.

Their parents have enlisted the services of Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to secure the release of the results within 24 hours of the court order being granted.

Chinopfukutwa argued that " withholding the pupil's examination results to force payment was unlawful and extortionate."

In the case of a former student at Lomagundi, Chinopfukutwa complained that the schools' decision prohibited the minor from planning their educational future as deadlines for applying for some programmes had already lapsed.

Chinopfukutwa also said the longer the school authorities withholding the child's examination results, the more they would be in limbo.

"The application will be heard and determined on Thursday 15 February 2024," said ZHLR.

In the case of Gateway High School, the 16 year-old wrote her Ordinary Level examinations last year.

The human rights lawyer stated that the parents of the minor child had engaged school authorities on several occasions to commit to a payment plan to liquidate the outstanding arrears and for them to allow their daughter to view and collect her results.

"However, the results of the parents' engagements were not fruitful because the school authorities were evasive," said the lawyers.

Chinopfukutwa told the school authorities that the minor child cannot apply for an Advanced Level studies place as she is not aware of how she performed in her Ordinary Level examinations.

Advanced Level students, Chinopfukutwa said, have already been enrolled in schools across the country and learning has since started.

Chinopfukutwa told the authorities at Gateway High School that if they fail to release and furnish the 16-year-old pupil with her examination results, he would institute legal proceedings to compel them to release the results.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.

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