The ManicaPost
Luthando Mapepa Chipinge Correspondent
CHIPINGE Rural District Council has acquired 400 desks for 10 rural schools in dire need for furniture amid revelations that pupils at the institutions were conducting lessons under trees.
The donation, which is part of devolution funds released by Government recently, will see two schools in each of the district’s five constituencies receiving 40 desks.
The gesture will go a long way in saving the dire situation at schools that lost their furniture during Cyclone Idai which devastated the district in March.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at Mbire Primary School, Chipinge RDC chief executive officer Mr Blessing Mamvosha said they were intervened after realizing that the learning environment at the schools had deteriorated to unacceptable levels.
Mr Mamvosha said in certain cases, pupils were being forced attend classes under trees, in dilapidated farm shift houses and tents provided during the peak of the Cyclone Idai.
“As part of the response to the situation, the local authority has procured at least 400 desks for 10 schools in dire situation, and plans are afoot to bail out more. The donated consignment also includes furniture for the teachers. As Chipinge RDC it is our hope that more schools benefit in due course,” Mr Mamvosha.
The area schools inspector Mr Isaiah Masona said Government was aware of the poor state of infrastructure, especially in newly established schools, and plans were underway to address the situation.
“Cyclone Idai affected school infrastructure and Government and its development partners are working flat out to address the challenge. We would like to applaud Chipinge RDC for setting an example,” he said.
Mbire primary school headmaster Mr Edward Chikwaya expressed concern over the poor state of infrastructure at the school at a time the rainy season is fast approaching.
“The rainy season is just a month away and our students are still learning in tents and make-shift buildings. Such an environment is not conducive for learning, and the earlier the situation is averted the better,” he said.
