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Mr John Brown Ncube

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Plumtree Correspondent
A NEW school in Bulilima District, Himago Secondary, is set to open during the course of this term in order to reduce distances walked by pupils.

Bulilima Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer, Mr John Brown Ncube, said construction of the school was complete and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education was in the process of securing teaching staff.

Mr Ncube said two of the three classroom blocks were now furnished.

“We have an addition in the schools which we have in the district. Himago Secondary School in Hingwe Ward in Bulilima District is set to be opened during the course of this term. The school now has three classroom blocks and two of them have been furnished courtesy of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

“A team from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education recently visited the school to assess whether the school was ready to be opened and they approved it. They are now working on modalities of deploying teaching staff to the school,” he said.

Mr Ncube said plans were underway to erect a perimeter fence around the school. He said the school will this year enrol Form One pupils and will open its doors to more pupils each year.

Mr Ncube said the school would go a long way in addressing the challenge of school drop-outs due to long distances to school after completion of Grade Seven.

He said pupils from Hingwe Ward and surrounding areas are forced to travel about 15 kilometres to reach the nearest school. “The Hingwe community has three primary schools namely Hingwe, Mangubo and Gotjombo Primary Schools but no secondary school. As a result pupils have been forced to walk 15 kilometres to reach Madlambuzi Secondary.

“This situation has been causing serious challenges as a number of pupils have been dropping out after completing their Grade Seven studies because of this long distance. Once this school opens then these challenges will be a thing of the past,” said Mr Ncube.

He said the school project was initiated in 2002 by the proprietor of Kombani Lodge, Mr Charles Moyo, who constructed one classroom block. He said another classroom block was constructed by IOM while the third was built by the community.

Mr Ncube said it still remained a challenge that primary pupils in the district were still walking long distances to reach schools. He appealed to various stakeholders to partner council in improving education and health care services within the district.

He said seven other schools were under construction within the district.

@DubeMatutu