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Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director Tumisang Thabela officially opens Ntambana Primary School in Bulilima District last week

Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
MATABELELAND South Provincial Education Director, Tumisang Thabela, has urged rural communities to build more schools saying scores of primary pupils were being raped on their way to school because of walking long distances.

Speaking at the official opening of Ntambana Primary School in Bulilima District recently, Thabela said the province still had a huge backlog of both secondary and primary schools.

“Primary pupils should be walking at least five kilometres to reach schools, but unfortunately some walk as far as 15 kilometres. At the moment we’ve 60 communities within the province that urgently need schools,” Thabela said.

She urged local authorities within the Matabeleland South province to support the construction of schools within their districts through allocating funds. She applauded Bulilima Rural District Council for prioritising school projects as they released funds towards the construction of one of the classroom blocks at Ntambana Primary School.

The education director also pointed out that schools were now required to open two entrances in each classroom to ensure the safety of children in cases of emergency.

Ntambana Primary School, which took 64 years to open as its construction began in 1950, is expected to open for the first term as an annexure of Huwana Primary School. It will house Early Childhood Development (ECD) learning and Grade 1 pupils.

Thabela urged the community surrounding the school to mobilise resources in order to ensure that more classroom blocks are constructed.

The chairlady of the school project, Constance Dube, said several efforts were made in the past to build the school, but they were all fruitless as the school collapsed on three occasions due to poor construction.

Dube said the community now had a challenge of acquiring furniture and building more classroom blocks adding that the closest school which their children were attending was about 10 kilometres away in Tsholotsho area.

“Some children are just sitting at home without attending school. In order for them to reach the nearest school, they’ve to walk through a thick forest and cross a river. During the rainy season, they can’t attend school because the river would be overflowing.”

Huwana councillor, Elias Dube, said some parents in their area preferred having their children stay at home so as to protect them from being sexually abused.

Thabela said poor pass rates would not be tolerated from schools this year as the government has put in place more convenient and effective methods of teaching, adding that schools in Matabeleland South province were expected to adopt these teaching methods.

She said schools had to diversify their curriculums as required by the Ministry of Education, tasking schools which had performed poorly in the previous years to perform above board. “We expect schools to start diversifying their curriculums as soon as possible. Schools have been directed to start teaching in local languages, incorporating voc tech subjects and science concepts among other requirements.”

Some rural schools within the province have in the past been recording 0 percent pass rates at Ordinary Level and Advanced Level.