The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
Manicaland needs 50 new schools to avert the current shortages that has seen some school children walking more than 20 kilometres to and from every day, an official within the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has said.
Out of these, six new schools are already being built across the province.
Magamba Primary (Rusape), Nyangani 2 Secondary (Nyanga), Budiriro Primary (Makoni), Chimbudzi Secondary (Buhera), DC Mutasa Secondary (Mutasa) and Raheen-Hobhouse Primary School in Mutare are being constructed under the Public Sector Investment Programme.
Chimbudzi Secondary School is a satellite institution being upgraded into a boarding school while DC Mutasa Secondary seeks to decongest Pafiwa Secondary School.
The Provincial Education Director, Mr Richard Gabaza, said Manicaland currently needs at least 50 schools, adding that Government is already making progress in bridging the province’s schools’ deficit.
The deficit and lack of adequate infrastructure at the existing learning institutions has been blamed for academic failure at most public schools.
Given that existing public schools are overcrowded; the new schools are needed to decongest them in the wake of Covid-19.
According to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s strategic plan (2021-2025), the first priority is to improve infrastructure at existing schools to improve access to inclusive, equitable and quality education.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Mr Taungana Ndoro, said while significant strides have been made to achieve universal access to primary education, access to inclusive, equitable and quality education remains a challenge.
Mr Ndoro revealed that to combat this, the Education Ministry is refurbishing and upgrading dilapidated and damaged infrastructure at 312 schools across the country so that they are more resilient to natural disasters.
The province has 1 281 primary and secondary schools, most of which have a teacher/learner ratio above 1:60, against the recommended ratio of 1:35.
“At national level, Government intends to build 3 000 schools as per our strategic plan and Manicaland will have its fair share of new schools in areas where there is greatest need.
‘‘In the same vein, we are rehabilitating 312 existing schools with dilapidated infrastructure,” said Mr Ndoro.
Mutare, Rusape and Chipinge districts are the worst affected, while Buhera is the only one with the standard secondary/primary ratio of 1:3 schools.
The scenario has been blamed on budgetary constraints, shortage of land and poor planning by local authorities.
Unfortunately, the backlog is forcing learners to travel long distances to access education or stay in backyard boarding facilities where they are exposed to various adolescent delinquencies.
In Mutare, a lot of learners who could not secure places in the city enrolled in Zimunya and Dora, while in Rusape, those who could not secure places at the town’s two high schools are forced to travel to peri-urbans schools.
Developmental partners have intervened by providing low cost boarding facilities in hot spot areas like Rimbi, Beacon, Goko, Rukangare and Checheche High Schools in Chipinge; Mhakwe and Ndima High Schools in Chimanimani and Masase High School in Mutare District.
Chiundu, Dope, Tsindi and Rukweza High Schools in Makoni also require similar boarding facilities to curtail the exploitation of learners in bush boarding facilities.
Manicaland has 207 satellite and farm schools with pole and dagga structures that need to be upgrading to get registered and attract quality teachers.
About 33 and 45 of these had zero percent pass rates in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Also linked to this is the need to strengthen teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) through the construction of specialist rooms, laboratories and workshops.
“We are working together with the Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Courier Services to have requisite specialist rooms.
‘‘The Ministry of Higher Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development is also assisting us to streamline STEAM by having it taught at teachers’ colleges,” said Mr Ndoro.
Zimbabwe Rural Teachers’ Union president, Mr Martin Chaburumunda blamed local authorities for sleeping on duty.
