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Trust Freddy
Correspondent
It is break time at Jinkstown Primary School in Chegutu and learners are at it; some boys play paper ball, some girls play boxes, with the eaves of their uniforms tucked into ther panties.
The rest of the pupils scatter and scamper by the yard while teachers take a deserved short rest. Everything from big to little everything else is normal at the school except what meets the trained eye.
On entering the school, one’s attention is immediately drawn to two juxtaposing structures: a delapidated old farm house-turned classroom and the second, a hodgepodge of nine new state-of-the-art classroom blocks and domitories.
The story does not end there. The old structure, obviously unfit for occupation is the one working while the new is moribund and locked up.
Even the untrained eye, can easily see that the new is fenced off and locked up while the old is busy with learners.
This aging and dilapidated building is a former cattle ranch farmhousea typical ramshackle on cracked walls under corrugated iron sheets, some of which have been blown off.
As if that is not enough, the doors are either damaged or missing and the windows panes disappeared into the abyss of history.
Except for a few broken classroom furniture there is absolutely nothing on this set that even somewhat resembles a school.
This is the situation at Jinkstown Primary School under Chegutu Rural Council where at least 245 primary learners have been attending for more than 10 years.
Ironically, there is a fully furnished school beside the primary school that was built in 2018 by some donors who apparently vanished with the keys after the project was finished.
While being told, these stories seem to grow horns and tails, but the reality is that the crumbling farmhouse is actually being used as a primary school while new structure start rotting unused.
Jinkstown Primary School was established in 2013 when the Chegutu East community proposed that a farmhouse be turned to a school while gathering funds of building a decent school for their children.
“We wanted to build a decent school using our own funds but when the donors came we abandoned the idea,” village head Mr Takesure Kandira said.
The then Chegutu Rural Council authorities allegedly informed the community members that a donor was interested in constructing a school for them and they gave them a nod to go ahead.
When the offer came , the community had already moulded bricks for the expansion of the school.
“The toilets that you are seeing were constructed by parents, but the donors volunteered to construct the school for us and the bricks we had moulded as parents were used as rubble.
“We gave them space that was meant for expansion of our school but they demanded more land which saw some of fellow villagers being relocated to pave way for the construction of the school.”
Three villagers are said to have receded their land to pave way for the construction, unbeknown to them that the donor had made another secret agreement.
“Surprisingly, they began with a durawall and then began refusing to let us in right away,” Mr Kandira said.
This was the major turning point, the whole community felt betrayed, the land that was meant for the expansion of Jinstown School was now in the hands of strangers.
Literally, they had lost control!
“After the project was completed,requested for the keys but the person who was contracted to build this school refused with the keys,” another villager Mr Misheck Moyo said.
Mr Moyo, who serves as the district chairman for Zanu Pf, said he was failing to understand the reason behind the contractor’s reluctance to hand over keys.
“The donors never came back to us, the contractor simply locked the gate and put his guards there.
“We wanted to construct our school in phases , we are confused, for more than five years children are learning in this shacky,” he said.
Zanu PF Chegutu East lawmaker Cde Webster Shamu said the community did not cede their land to any non-governmental organisations.
“They were donating money to construct a school and the community did not sell their rights on that school to the Kuwaitis and whoever is claiming to be the owner of that land must produce title deeds of that land or an agreement of sale with anybody in Government.
“No one has the right to refuse with the keys ,we don’t know anyone besides the Ministry of education and parents , the owners of the school. We are very surprised , that is why parents are up in arms , they have no right at all, nobody can sell the Government land.”
Furthermore, Cde Shamu expressed his anguish over the denial of children’s right to education.
“We want the school to be opened and nobody should hide behind a finger, this is not their school,” he said.
Parents are suspecting that they were sold a dummy unknowingly and agreed to the privatisation of the school.
“This is just a small piece we are left with, the place that was meant for the expansion of the project was parceled to the alleged donors,” another village head Spiwe Moyo said. “Since 2018, the contractor has been refusing with keys and if you look at the new classrooms are being eaten by termites,”
Another Jinkstown resident, Mr Jephiter Shezhu said the new school was currently being manned by a 24 hour security company.
“They don’t want to see anyone inside, the contractor is threatening to sue anyone who dares to enter,” Mr Shezhu said.
Since 2018 there has been a stalemate between the community and the alleged donor since they are failing to build a common ground. The other classroom is allegedly being used by a teacher who was given a go ahead to conduct extra lessons.
“Look where our children are learning but there are fully furnished classes but they are just watching with envy because of some selfish people,” Mr Shezhu said.
When contacted for comment, the alleged contractor Mr George Chambwera said the school was a project of Kuwait-funded organisation Direct Aid.
However, he refused to give further details saying the issue was being solved at Government to Government level.
Online Reporter