THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION CALLS FOR DIALOGUE AMIDST DISPUTES IN SCHOOLS

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Education Mphatso Mkuonela has urged schools in the country to seek dialogue whenever there is a misunderstanding between school administration and students.

The plea comes barely a day after the school administration at Nalikule College of Education sought intervention from police to quell misunderstandings that ensued after the school administration’s sudden change on days of opening the school.

Yetu FM has established that Nalikule College of Education was supposed to open on 3 September 2023, but due to other things, the school administration communicated to the students that they have changed the date to 18 September. Some students started reporting at school, where they were told that the school postponed opening dates to 2 October.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Education Mphatso Mkuonela advised tertiary students to make use of their student union committee whenever they have issues with school administration rather than inciting violence.

‘’We should all learn to use dialogue before any step is taken. My advice is that whenever there are issues, we must have good grievances redress mechanisms where the councils and students union’s bodies sit down and find a solution,” said Mkuonera

Mkuonela has also said that violence causes a lot of damage to school property, which requires a lot of resources to repair and affects students in the process.

“The institutions belong to us, so whenever a property is damaged it requires a lot in terms of money to repair and sometimes it happens that students are forced to pay for the damaged properties In the end the students are the one who suffers because the school may even close,” said Mkuonera

Mkuonera further advised the students and the councils always to have room for dialogue.