Samuel Kadungure
News Editor
THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s prioritisation of dialogue has borne fruit, as the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland, despite winning its case on mission fund in the courts, has reduced, and capped it at US$500 for new learners.
This compromise, which took effect with the enrolment of Form Five learners this week, was reached through last week’s crisis management meetings involving officials from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Government arms, Responsible Authority (RA), and School Development Committees.
Returnee learners paid US$300.
The stakeholders have also agreed on temporary measures to address over-enrolment, which led to accommodation and teacher shortages at St Faith’s, St David’s Bonda Girls’, and St Augustine’s high schools that exceeded their enrolment capacities by between 93 and 150 learners due to double registration by the school administrations and RA.
This put a strain on available resources.
Manicaland Provincial Education Director, Mr Richard Gabaza confirmed the developments, and instructed schools seeking to exceed their current enrolment numbers to first build suitable dormitories and request additional teachers before recruiting more learners.
“We launched an investigation into schools under the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland’s administration, focusing on allegations of over-enrolment and substandard dormitory construction. Upon receiving a comprehensive report, we shared it with the Office of the President and Cabinet, the RA, SDCs, and other Government agencies.
“The investigation revealed that parallel enrolment by school heads and the RA was the primary cause of the issue, leading to learners’ numbers exceeding the capacity of boarding facilities. To prevent this from happening again, we have agreed that school heads should be the sole enrolling authorities,” said Mr Gabaza, emphasising that the ministry will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that all learners have access to safe and suitable living conditions.
Mr Gabaza said they are collaborating with the Public Service Commission to recruit additional qualified teachers to meet the growing demand at the schools.
“To address the accommodation challenges, temporary measures have been implemented. At St Faith’s High School, bunkbeds will be used until the end of the term, while standard hostels are being constructed. What the RA had initially intended to construct was deemed substandard and condemned.
“At St David’s Bonda High, the RA is building temporary accommodation that parents have deemed acceptable for use until the end of the term, while standard hostels are expected to be completed by the second term.
“St Augustine’s is converting two buildings into hostels, which the SDC has approved as a temporary solution, while standard hostels are being built for the second term. Regarding staffing, school heads must submit requests for additional teachers through their district offices,” said Mr Gabaza.
He expressed optimism about the improving relationship between the RA and St Faith’s SDC.
“Efforts to improve relations between authorities at St Faith’s High and the RA are beginning to bear fruit, with a meeting facilitated by the Permanent Secretary’s visit helping to ease the tension. The gathering brought together the RA and school authorities, aiming to foster a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere at the school. Encouragingly, the discussions ended on a positive note, with participants even sharing jokes. Moving forward, the focus will be on maintaining this momentum, with monitoring in place to ensure that progress is not hindered,” he said.
Mr Gabaza said the court ruling on the contentious mission fund issue found that the RA had not breached any provisions of the Education Act.
The ministry had taken the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland to court, alleging a breach of Section 21 of the Education Act, which requires school levies or fees to be approved by the National Competitiveness Commission.
The court ultimately ruled that the mission fund did not constitute either a levy or a fee, thereby placing the decision to charge or not charge the fund squarely within the discretion of the church, as governed by its canons or constitution.
This case highlights the need for the ministry to review existing statutes, ensuring inclusivity and conformity with regulations to maintain regulatory oversight.
“Despite losing the case, the ministry has successfully negotiated for a reduction in the mission fund fees. Initially, the fees were set at US$900, but after discussions, the authorities have agreed to reduce it to US$300 for returning Form Five learners. This is a significant decrease and a step in the right direction. Our stance is clear – it is unfair to charge mission fund that exceed approved school fees. They are working to ensure that the mission fund is reasonable and aligned with the ministry approvals,” said Mr Gabaza.
Anglican Diocese of Manicaland’s education secretary, Reverend Edmund Samutereko, reaffirmed their commitment to providing accessible, decent, safe, and academically conducive learners’ accommodation at all its schools.
He emphasised that this initiative is crucial for delivering quality education and achieving the academic excellence for which their learners are renowned.
Reverend Samutereko added that they are working tirelessly to ensure that learners do not live in substandard conditions, which could hinder their academic success.
“We are committed to meeting the learning needs of all young people in our schools through equitable access to appropriate accommodation, learning and life skills programmes. Although the magistrates’ court ruled that the mission fund was not subject to regulation by the ministry, the diocese has agreed to reconsider the fee. Following discussions, the church will review and reduce the mission fund to make it more affordable to parents,” said Reverend Samutereko.
He also highlighted Section 10 of the Education Act, which grants school heads the authority to enrol learners, emphasising the importance of adhering to this provision.
St Faith’s High School Development Committee (SDC) chairman, Dr Lovemore Chipunza, who attended the crisis management meeting, acknowledged that the three schools had exceeded their enrolment capacities.
However, he revealed that several measures were adopted to mitigate the situation.
He said the RA was instructed to hand over the responsibility of learners’ enrolment to school heads and construct proper hostels with approved plans by the second term.
Dr Chipunza said in the meantime, temporary measures have been agreed upon with the input from SDCs.
“These measures include the temporary use of bunkbeds at St Faith’s High and prefabricated structures at St Augustine’s and St David’s Bonda Girls’ High School. However, some concerns were raised by the SDC at St David’s Bonda High which insisted that the prefab dormitory will only be used until the end of Term 1, 2025. St Augustine’s SDC requested for an inspection of the structure before agreeing on its lifespan.
“St Faith’s High SDC has refused to have the prefabs constructed due to safety concerns, citing its construction under a live power line and Government’s initial condemnation of the prefabs as substandard,” he said.
The schools were also directed to collaborate with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as well as other relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, and rural district councils, on all construction projects.
