The Sunday News
Thobekile Khumalo, Sunday News Reporter
PARENTS with children who use the Bulawayo City Hall Car Park have raised concern over the increase in cases of fights among pupils from different schools who have literally turned the area into a boxing arena.
According to some of the parents, the running battles usually pit pupils from Eveline Girls High School, Townsend Girls High, Milton Boys High School and Gifford Boys High School.
Sunday News has on a number of times witnessed fights among pupils. Last Friday, a bunch of boys from Milton Boys High were harassing a pupil from Founders High and took his school hat.
In an interview, one of the parents, Mr Glen John said his granddaughter has complained of being bullied several times at the car park.
“City Hall has become a place where rivals fight but this even affects pupils who are innocent. My granddaughter on several occasions has been removed from the Zupco queue and harassed by pupils from Eveline, Milton, Gifford and Townsend for no apparent reason. This has gone to an extent that she is now afraid to go to school because on a daily basis she has to go through some ill-treatment by these pupils because she cannot fight back.
“There are a lot of people working in that area but they do not even care about what is happening. On a daily basis there has to be a pupil who is just beaten for no reason. Even the Bulawayo City Council has to look into that issue and come up with laws, maybe govern that place because it has lost its value and meaning if such things are happening under their nose,” said Mr Glen.
Other parents said police should increase their patrols around the area especially in the afternoon when the pupils knock off.
However, Bulawayo provincial education director Mrs Olicah Kaira said she was not aware of the issue.
“I have not received any complaints from parents as well as schools but I will definitely look into the issue. My advice to parents is to go to schools to report such things because the ministry is against bullying so there is a structure within districts that deals with students that mistreat others,” she said.
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