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Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
FOUR Schools in Nkayi District of Matabeleland North Province had their roofs blown off by strong winds which hit the district recently leaving a trail of destruction.

The affected schools are Mtshabi Secondary, Matheme, Sivomo and Mkhalathi primary schools.
Mtshabi Secondary school had the roofs of the administration block and a teacher’s house blown off while at Sivomo one classroom block and toilets had their roofs blown off.

At Mkhalathi Primary School, the strong winds destroyed a teacher’s cottage while at Matheme the roof of a classroom block was blown off.

Nkayi District Development Coordinator Ms Matilda Mlotshwa said there are fears that more schools may be affected when the rainy season starts.

She said the destruction at the four schools had disrupted preparations for public examination hence the urgent need to undertake th repair work.

“We always face this problem during the rainy season because our schools are very old as some of them were built in the 1950s. Our terrain has no stones for construction as we have sandy soils and as such most of the foundations are not strong enough,” she said.

Ms Mlotshwa said termites are also a big problem as they destroy roofing trusses which weaken the roofs.

Part of the damage wrought by strong winds on Mtshabi Secondary and Mkhalathi Primary School (left) in Nkayi

“We are towards exams and now the issue of exam papers security is a big problem as some of the administration blocks that have the strong rooms are without roofs.

We are appealing for tents from well-wishers so that in case of such incidents pupils do not stop learning. We also need to renovate some of the old buildings that have outlived their lifespan but we do not have the required resources. We are therefore appealing to donors to assist,” said Ms Mlotshwa.

She said after roofs of some buildings were blown off, teachers and pupils were now sharing the limited accommodation thereby compromising the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Mlotshwa said they are in the process of compiling a bill of quantities for the schools but roofing materials are the major requirement.
The district also has a severe shortage of schools which is forcing pupils to walk long distances to the few available schools.
Nkayi has 14 wards with eight secondary and eight primary schools with some of them in very poor state.

Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education director of communication and advocacy Mr Taungana Ndoro said the ministry was yet to get an update from the province regarding the schools that were affected by the recent violent storm. _@themkhust