Denial of school admission

My son was selected to join a public high school for social science studies. Due to my financial constraint, I could not buy the required needs for my son and he was late to report to school for three weeks. The headmaster refused to admit him on the grounds of lateness to report to school. Does the law provide a time limit within which a pupil should report to school? Does the law give the head of school power to refuse admission or readmission to a pupil for lateness to report to school? Is it an offence to report late to school? As a parent I am aggrieved with such refusal. What can I do to challenge this decision?
LP, Kigoma

The Education Act and the Education (Expulsion and Exclusion of Pupils from School) Rules gives the school committees and the school boards power to expel students from schools or refuse admission to schools. For secondary schools, power to refuse admission or expel pupils is given to the school boards. For primary schools, such power is given to the school committees that manage the respective school. The head of schools have the duty to report the cause for expulsion or exclusion and give his recommendations to the school committee or the school board that manages the school. The school committee or the school board after deliberating on the report of the head of school and making its own inquiries may accept or reject the recommendations. Hence it is the school board or the school committee and not the head of school who is vested with powers to refuse the admission or expel a student from school. We have noted many times that the head of school is unaware of such rules and proceeds with expulsion without following the due process.

One of the grounds for refusal to admit or readmit a student to school is lateness to report to the school. However, the Rules do not prescribe the deadline for reporting to school for admission or readmission after the school opens. What period is considered as late reporting to school that would warrant refusal to admit a student to school is not clearly provided in the Rules. We would expect the delay not to be unreasonable. In your case, a 3-week delay might be held to be unreasonable.

An order of the school committee or the school board expelling or excluding a student from school has to be in writing addressed to the parent or the guardian of the student and copied to the Regional and District Education Officers. Where the order of exclusion or expulsion is made by the school committee, a person aggrieved with the decision may appeal to the District Education Appeals Board within 45 days of the decision. For the decisions made by the school boards, the appeal lies to the Regional Education Appeals Board and from there a further appeal lies to the Minister for Education whose decision is final and binding. However, in case a parent or guardian is still dissatisfied with the decision of the Minister he or she can challenge the decision of the Minister by way of judicial review.

In your case, there are some procedural lapses on the part of the school, and we recommend you alert them thereto. Should they not heed to your plea, you can proceed with an appeal as provided above.