The ManicaPost
Freedom Mutanda Post correspondent—
In the wake of the first elections held in a democratic and independent Zimbabwe, Chipinge Junior morphed into a present day academic giant that allows any child from various persuasions to learn there.During the colonial era, only white children were enrolled there using a number of Education Acts to keep blacks out of range of the chosen race and these blacks had to make do with mission and council schools to access education.
Today, Chipinge Junior School is a doyen of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as every year it produces quality passes that are the envy of many a school.
Brief history
The farming district of Chipinge had a number of white commercial farmers who exploited the good soils and rainfall that encourage coffee and tea growing; add the wattle plantations and one found that an influx of whites necessitated the establishment of a school. Thus, in 1929 the then government of Southern Rhodesia built a modern school at the present site of Chipinge School.
In 12 years time, the school will celebrate its centenary year and at that time, thousands of alumni will converge to celebrate the life of an institution that has remained a powerhouse in the provision of quality and empowering education.
After 1980, the enrollment surged as the black middle class parents made a bee-line to the school.
However, as time went on, the school opened up its doors to more African students and today, it has 1 036 students drawn from all over the country and the good thing is, there is no discrimination in recruitment as the legacy of colonialism ended at independence.
The school has a vibrant Old Students Association that can be accessed via Facebook.
Core values
Team work
Honesty
Diligence
Punctuality
Discipline
Respect
Heads that had a stint at the school since independence
Mr Rowen resigned in 1985 to pursue private interests and Mr Dhliwayo took over until the end of the year. From 1985 to 1989, Mr Razunguzwa saw the transformation of the school into a truly representative one as the enrollment took a notch up.
The longest serving head to date since independence is Mr Mutete who held the reigns from 1992 to 2004.
The current Headmaster, Mr David Chinenere took over in 2004. He has done wonders especially in 2008 when the economy took a nose dive and he steered the ship in turbulent waters. Chipinge Junior School remained a school of choice despite the economic challenges.
Enrollment
There are 74 girls and 39 boys who are resident at the school. They come from all corners of the country. Cumulatively, 517 boys and 519 girls make up the student board of Chipinge Junior School.
Educational and sports achievements
Chipinge Junior School is no newcomer to accolades that are related to sports and academics. For a long time, the school was a pacesetter in the field of excellent Grade 7 results.
There were gluts of 2 units per session from the time when only Mathematics and English were sat for and when Shona and General Paper were added, the 4 units came in large numbers again.
‘’When I came I saw a ship that had good captains before. Equally important are the wonderful teachers here who apply themselves diligently in pursuance of excellence.
They go beyond the call of duty in an endeavour to make quality be the hallmark of everything we do here,’’ Mr Chinenere said.
Mr Phillip Soto, the Deputy Head, weighed in by saying: “Our staff is intrinsically and extrinsically motivated owing to the friendly environment that pervades the school; that ambience has a knock on effect on the students who work hard and they do the assigned work well.
As the administration, we have an open door policy to the students, teachers and ancillary staff which I believe is an added incentive towards achieving a high pass rate at our school.’’
In 2013, the school got a gold medal at provincial level in Heritage Quiz competitions. It went on to score bronze at national level.
Every year, Chipinge Junior School reaches provincial finals in soccer, basketball, rugby, music, tennis and handball thanks to its dedicated sports teacher, Taurai Gatsi and other teachers who follow sports with passion.
Mr Liberty Sithole is the School Development Committee chairperson. He lauds the administration, students, teachers, ancillary staff and parents for being responsible.
‘’The group of parents, students, teachers, SDC and administration is a marvelous one.
We could not have reached the milestone of buying a bus and pacesetting in academic results without the unity of purpose of these groups. Some time ago, we visited places of interests as a school which would have demanded a big dent on our pockets if we had hired the bus.
However, we used our bus.
Fittingly, the school continues to grow from strength to strength because of the spirit of development that is within the school,’’ said Mr Sithole.
This week, the school holds its Speech and Prize Giving Day under the theme: “The Power of family and friends in promoting academic excellence.
Therefore, all roads leads to Chipinge Junior School as parents, teachers, students and administration look back at an eventful year spiced with the purchasing of the school bus.
