adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
PUPILS at Valukhalo Secondary School in Mangwe District are in a quagmire as they are conducting lessons at a community hall that also doubles up as a condom distribution point.
The school which was officially opened last year with an initial enrolment of 200 pupils now has more than 300 pupils.
There are three classes with about 100 pupils each.
A teacher at the school said it was not proper for school children to conduct their lessons from a place which serves as a condom distribution centre.
“The hall was divided with sheet boards to create two rooms for the pupils. The remaining space is used by the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council. They have a youth training centre where they store their condoms. The ZNFPC administers other family planning programmes from the community hall,” said the teacher.
The community hall was turned into a secondary school following a special appeal by villagers who wanted to curb school drop outs.
Most pupils were dropping out of school upon completing Grade 7.
The school is facing a shortage of teachers’ accommodation.
Some of the teachers are renting rooms at the backyard of a local bottle store while others live with members of the community.
Teachers said pupils were crammed in small rooms.
Pupils moved into the community hall early last year which also houses the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council ward offices.
The Form Three pupils’ class which was introduced this year is conducting lessons in an incomplete classroom block.
“The learning environment is just too harsh for the pupils and even for us teachers. We teach pupils crammed in one room. Both pupils and teachers have no furniture so pupils are forced to sit on the floor,” said one of the teachers
The teacher said the children were supposed to make up six classes but the decision was shelved owing to limited learning space.
The villagers are making efforts to ensure that the school has necessary infrastructure like classrooms, an administration block and teachers’ cottages.
A village head in the area, Thomas Ncube, described the learning environment as pathetic.
“Some of the teachers are housed by community members; others are renting at Ngungunyana Bottle Store which is at Sindisa Business Centre. This is not a proper environment for a teacher to excel. Neither is it ideal for learning,” said Ncube.
A number of pupils from the area desperate for high school education are flocking to the school, making it difficult for school officials to turn them away.
Mangwe Rural District Council, Chief Executive Officer Nketha Mangoye -Dlamini raised concern over congestion at the school.
He also bemoaned the lack of proper infrastructure at the school.
Dlamini said:
“The school has about 11 teachers who do not have proper accommodation. We are in the process of constructing a block with two classrooms at the school. The block is almost complete”. He said more classrooms were, however, needed as more pupils were still being enrolled.
Dlamini said there was need to decongest the classes by creating two separate classes for each form.
“The problem of classrooms, desks and teachers’ cottages has to be addressed urgently because children need a proper learning environment,” he said.
Online Reporter