Communities assault teachers over bags of cement

Highly charged communities surrounding Changausya Full Primary School in Mangochi last Thursday assaulted a head teacher and two other teachers for allegedly abusing school resources.

The development has forced teachers to suspend classes indefinitely, effectively sending learning on an early Christmas holiday.

A sister to Village Head (VH) Chumbangame, Rose Anusa, confirmed the development, saying communities were not happy with how the three allegedly handled 43 bags of cement meant for renovating two school blocks and undisclosed bags of soya blend meal.

“And after failing to reach a compromise, communities resorted to assaulting the concerned teachers to express their displeasure at their actions, but also ensure that these malpractices don’t take place again,” she said.

The head teacher and his family was reportedly in hiding when Weekend Nation visited the school Tuesday, but one of the concerned teachers, Dines Tsegula clarified that the cement had outlived its lifespan; hence, was disposed of with the blessing of the school committee.

He said the 43 bags were part of the 200 bags the Ministry of Education sent for the renovation of two school blocks, which were blown off in 2001 and 2010.

“But for some reasons, renovation works haven’t been done to date. And when we realised that the cement had outlived its lifespan, we agreed with the school management committee to sell it and use proceeds on other equally important projects,” he said.

Mangochi deputy district education manager Paul Magombo, who was tasked to resolve the differences, said he was not aware of the suspension of classes.

“Has the situation reached this far? No, I didn’t know about this,” said Magombo in an interview.