The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Torerayi Moyo, has confirmed the arrest of a school headmaster and a director in Harare after nine students were prevented from writing a Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) examination due to "inappropriate" haircuts.
Speaking on the matter, Minister Moyo stated that the school officials violated the learners' fundamental right to education and access to examinations. The incident occurred when the nine students arrived to sit for their Family and Religious Studies Paper 2 examination.
According to the Minister, the students were turned away by school authorities and ordered to cut their hair. By the time the students returned to the exam hall, 55 minutes of the allotted time had elapsed. Under current ZIMSEC regulations, candidates are not permitted to enter an examination room if they arrive more than 15 minutes after the start time.
"The Headmaster and the Director of the school were arrested two weeks ago on Friday," Minister Moyo said. "They appeared at the Mbare Magistrates Court on Monday last week."
The officials were granted bail and are scheduled to appear in court again on December 9.
Government Policy and Remedy for Students
Clarifying the government's position on grooming, Minister Moyo noted that while the ministry expects students to be "smartly dressed" and have "presentable" haircuts, there is no explicit government policy that permits barring students from examinations over hairstyles.
To ensure the affected students are not disadvantaged, the Ministry will apply a statistical grading method known as the "aggradation policy."
"We are going to look at the top four students and the last four students in how they performed in the first paper," Minister Moyo explained. "We are going to mark their scripts and give a grade to those students who were barred."
This process will allow ZIMSEC to generate a final grade for the candidates based on their performance in the first paper relative to the class average, ensuring they do not fail the subject due to the administrative action. - Zimbo LIVE Harare
