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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter
SEVERAL children in Hwange District are dropping out of school owing to early child marriages and lack of school fees.

The Chronicle last week visited Luseche village, one of the worst affected areas in the district and established that at least 54 children failed to return to school at the beginning of the second term.

Traditional leaders and teachers who spoke to The Chronicle attributed the drop-outs to early child marriages both at primary and secondary level.

The councillor for Nekabandama Ward, Mr Aloisio Chibuswa, said the rate at which girls were dropping out of school was alarming.

“In my ward we have a big challenge of girls dropping out of school to get married at a very young age and this is a worrying trend. There is a low turnout of children proceeding to secondary school due to drop outs. As a councillor for the area, I continue to urge the Government and other players to join hands in addressing this challenge. We need to intensify awareness campaigns as a way of conscientising the community,” he said.

Mr Chibuswa said a 36-year-old villager was last week arrested for marrying a 14-year-old girl and the case is still pending before the courts.

Mr Christopher Munkombwe, a village head at Tontola under Chief Nekatambe area, said cases of child marriages in the village were high resulting in a sharp increase in school drop outs.

“We have a serious problem of children some as young as 13 being forced into early marriages by their guardians and subsequently dropping out of school.

This is an issue that needs urgent attention considering that these children are the future of this nation,” he said.

Mr Sianyweta Nyathi, a village head for Chimbona village in the same area, said long distances travelled by children to school was another factor contributing to massive school drops outs.

“We also have children staying in villages such as Mudinguli and Chibala attending school at Nekabandama Primary School and Kulibambila Secondary School and they are forced to travel a distance of about 20km to and from school every day. You will therefore find that some of these children end up dropping out of school resulting in a decline in enrolment and marriages at a tender age,” he said.

“Kulibambila Secondary School is an annex school and so when children write examinations they have to go to Neshaya Secondary, which is about 50km away.”

Other schools servicing the area include Lukosi and St Mary’s and they are also situated several kilometres away.

The provincial education director for Matabeleland North, Mrs Boithatelo Mnguni, confirmed that school drop outs were a major problem in the largely rural province.

“There are a lot of things that militate against children going to school and dropping out. We have a high rate of drop outs and absenteeism in schools in Matabeleland North.

“The issue of child marriages is one of the major reasons behind drop outs and it is a vicious circle and we don’t know who to blame,” she said.
Mrs Mnguni said despite opening avenues for school dropouts to return to classes, most of them were no longer interested in school.

“We have opened avenues for those who dropped out of school to return but sadly most of them are not willing largely because of issues to do with stigmatisation and multiple house chores, which at the end of the day militate against our efforts.

“At one school in Hwange, teachers tried to plead with a brilliant pupil to return to school after she got married but sadly she declined,” she said.
Mrs Mnguni also expressed concern over the rate at which pupils were absconding classes in rural schools in the province.

“Weather is another contributory factor when it comes to absenteeism. During the rainy season and winter most of these children especially ECD and primary pupils don’t go to school. In Lupane we had to provide a tent at Masungamala Primary because children were no longer coming to school as they were attending classes under trees. Those are some of the factors that result in children absconding,” she said.

Statistics availed to The Chronicle show that schools in Luseche area recorded a sharp decline in enrolment as a result of drop-outs.

Last term Kulibambili Secondary School had a total enrolment of 169 pupils compared to this term’s 143 while Luseche Primary last term had 202 pupils and the figure declined to 174 this term.

Investigations by this paper also revealed that some of the school drop-outs resort to prostitution after failed marriages.

One victim of child marriage who identified herself as Patience Nyathi (19) told The Chronicle that she was forced to marry a 50-year-old man by her aunt at the age of 15.

“My parents died in 2007 when I was still very young and my aunt took custody of me and my two siblings. I had to drop out of school when I was doing Form One after my aunt arranged a marriage for me. I married a 50-year-old man who continuously abused me until I left his home and joined my peers in Dete where we are now into sex work,” she said.

Patience stays with her two siblings aged 14 and 10 at Hwange’s Mpumalanga suburb.

“I had to take away my two siblings from my aunt because I don’t want them to end up in the same predicament. I am staying with them and they are both at school and I pay their fees through sex work,” she said.

According to a 2013 Education Management System report released by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, the number of drop-outs at primary education level increased from 23 percent in 2012 to 43 percent in 2013 countrywide.

The report stated that more than 13 000 primary and secondary school pupils dropped out of school in 2013 owing to early marriages and lack of school fees.

The ministry revealed that about 52 percent of secondary school drop-outs were females, adding that 40 percent of all primary school pupils who failed to proceed with their education were also females.

A local human rights watchdog, Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) said in areas such as Binga and Hwange, girls aged between 13 and 15 were being forced into early child marriages by their parents or guardians in a bid to raise money for food.

“Most of the girls aged between 13 and 15 are forced into early sexual abuses and marriages, especially in Binga and Hwange districts. Some parents send their girl children into early marriages just to raise money for food,” said the report.

Despite the challenges rocking the education sector, Zimbabwe has the highest literacy rate in Africa at 91 percent.

@mashnets