She said the practice would alienate learners from education and make them fall behind in class. Zitha referred to an incident she recently encountered on her way to work, saying she came across a group of learners who had been told to go back home by their principal for being late. “I accompanied them back to school and asked the principal to let them attend classes because denying them entry does not do them any good, except to further corrupt their minds and make them hate education even more,” said the mayor.

She urged teachers to look for alternative ways to punish learners rather than deprive them of their right to education. The mayor was speaking during a recent visit to Chamando High School which obtained a 40% pass rate in the 2022 matric exams. She urged teachers to dedicate themselves to teaching rather than focus on their monthly salary, saying this was the only way to uplift the living standard in many communities.

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“The challenge we have with some teachers is that they do not have learners’ interests at heart, as long as they collect their salaries at the end of the month, they don’t care whether their learners pass or fail,” she told teachers. She said this mentality contributed to the increased number of school dropouts. “These drop-outs are the same people that turn to crime and terrorise communities because they do not have jobs and they need money to satisfy their drugs craving,” continued the mayor during the visit. She urged the principal of the school to strengthen the school governing body (SGB) by getting more parents to participate.

Commenting on the recent incident in which two learners stabbed each other at the school, the mayor said the school should not allow an incident like that to become the norm as it further deteriorates learning if such an incident is overlooked without consequences. “As a school, you cannot let an incident like that go as if nothing happened. These learners have parents or guardians, you need to call them and talk to them or take action that would deter others from doing the same,” she said. The mayor also suggested that the school should invite the police to frequently visit the school to search for learners without prior knowledge.