Zimpapers Logo

Freedom Mupanedemo, Midlands Bureau
A satellite school operating from a Community Hall at a business centre in Vungu district, Lower Gweru has enlisted the services of police who move around beer outlets instructing barmen to lower their music so that it doesn’t disrupt lessons.

Insukamini Secondary School pupils and teachers who have been using Insukamini Community Hall since 2008, have to contend with the blaring noise from the different bars at the business centre.

The highest pass rate that the school has recorded at O-level is 20 percent and the school authorities are blaming the poor pass rate on the environment which they say is not conducive for learning.

When schools opened last week, the authorities took advantage of a new police base at the business centre which is now helping them control the noise mainly from radios and patrons of the bars that are close to the hall.

The school head, Mr Akim Cheza told our Midlands Bureau that the location of the school was not conducive for learning as lessons continue to be disrupted by music from the surrounding bars.

“We spoke to the police about our problem and when it’s the first weeks of schools opening like this, we move around the bars in the company of the police telling workers at the bars to lower the volume of their music until say about 3pm when lessons end,” he said.

Mr Cheza said the school which has an enrolment of about 500 pupils, has an average pass rate of 20 percent at O-Level which teachers feel can be improved once the environment is conducive to learning.

“We are just a satellite school and we have been operating from here since 2008, we want to improve on our pass rate but with the situation as it is, teachers always blame the noise and activities at the business centre.

“This is why we are trying to engage bar owners so that they keep music from their bars low,” he said.

Mr Cheza said every day, he makes sure that he walks around the bars reminding the barmen to reduce their music volumes but some refuse hence he at times seeks police assistance.

He said besides interruptions from loud music from the bars, the lessons are sometimes disrupted when the local authority conducts its meetings at the same premises.

“We are using Vungu Rural District Council’s Community Hall and at times they come here for their meetings. We are grateful to them for giving us the hall so each time they have meetings, we are forced to suspend lessons,” he said.

Mr Cheza said parents were constructing a new school away from the business centre.

“There are two blocks of classrooms that have already been roofed at the new site but we appeal for funds to speed up the construction work so that we have at least four classroom blocks before we move to the new site,” he said.