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Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Correspondent
CHANCELLOR Junior School was this week crowned the best primary school in Manicaland after receiving the Permanent Secretary’s Merit Award at a colourful ceremony held at the school on Wednesday.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Mrs Tumisang Thabela handed the school headmaster, Mr Masimba Chihowa a $1,3 million cheque, a tablet and a certificate of appreciation.
A plaque in lieu of the Secretary’s Bell was also erected at the school.
Speaking after a tour of the school, Mrs Thabela praised the school for a job well done.
“The school should be congratulated for this great achievement which is a product of hard work, commitment, teamwork and great synergies with stakeholders and partners,” she said.
The Secretary’s Merit Award is the highest honour given to a school after showing qualities of being a true champion of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s total mandate of providing relevant and high quality educational services to its clients.
Mrs Thabela added that the Merit Award was meant to inspire various categories of teaching and learning institutions to continuously strive for excellence.
She further highlighted that it was one of her ministry’s supervision strategies to improve the education system.
“It is a supervision and motivation strategy, under our Better Schools Programme concept that is meant to acknowledge commendable work by school teams as well as to help their clusters to help each other on the journey towards moving their education standards to greater heights.
“This recognition does not come on a silver platter, but is earned through hard work, teamwork, diligence, unwavering commitment and effort by all members of the school community,” she said.
Mrs Thabela commended the school for embracing Government’s infrastructure development thrust.
“As we toured the school, we observed a number of construction and rehabilitation works, key among them were the new classroom blocks, the fencing of the entire school, the painting of the whole school and the purchase of a 63-seater Q-bus among others.
“To other school heads here present, you should emulate the developments here and develop infrastructure at your schools,” she said.
For procuring the relevant new Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) textbooks and adopting Information Communication Techolodgy (ICT) for all its pupils including ECD learners, the school was highly praised.
Chancellor High School head, Mr Chihowa expressed gratitude to the support the school received from the parent ministry and other schools in the province.
“The Secretary’s Merit Award is conferred to a deserving school in recognition of outstanding achievements in different areas, and we are glad that as a school we have been found as a deserving recipient of that award.
“It is with the most gratitude that I thank my team that includes school staff, School Development Committee and other stakeholders. Had it not been for the great teamwork, we would not have scooped this award,” said Mr Chihowa.
He also thanked other school heads for inspiring Chancellor Junior school.
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