Source: Relief for barred O’ Level candidates – herald
Mukudzei Chingwere
Senior Reporter
NINE candidates from a Harare institution barred by school authorities over their haircuts from taking a Zimsec Family and Religious Studies Ordinary Level examination recently will not be disadvantaged, but assessed on the paper they had written.
The decision follows reports of their exclusion based on haircuts deemed inappropriate.
Cabinet received a report addressing this violation and expressed concern over the actions of the school, which were found to violate guidelines set by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Torerayi Moyo said the affected learners would be assessed using marks from the paper they had already written, since the examination consisted of two papers.
“We do not have an explicit policy on haircuts. What we have is that learners must be smartly dressed and the haircut must resemble that,” said Dr Moyo.
“The authorities that violated the fundamental right of students to education and access examinations, the headmaster and the director of the school were both arrested.
“The learners will not write a new exam, but we are going to apply the gradation policy since they had already written another paper,” said Dr Moyo.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said Cabinet received a report regarding the violation of learners.
“The learners were excluded on the grounds of turning up in haircuts which the authorities considered inappropriate,” said Dr Muswere.
“Following a meeting with both the school authorities and parents or guardians of the affected learners, the Government noted with concern that the action taken by the school authorities was inconsistent with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education guidelines and the national regulations governing equitable access to education. Remedial action has been instituted.”
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