admin
Mukudzei Chingwere in Hwedza
VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has appealed to private schools to consider the plight of the needy when setting school fees, particularly for day scholars.
He made the appeal after a familiarisation tour and official opening of a private boarding school, Northend High School in Hwedza yesterday.
The school, owned by Mr Piri Mukono who already runs three high-end private schools in Zvishavane, is set to open its doors in January and will be focusing mainly on education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The Vice President’s call comes in response to growing concerns over the rising costs of education, which have made quality schooling increasingly inaccessible for many families.
VP Chiwenga said he appreciated that those running private schools were in business, but noted that there is a way of balancing the two, that was service to the people and profits.
“I have toured the school and I am happy with what I saw. Of course, there are areas we have discussed which need to be attended to before the school opens in January for the benefit of the learners”.
The Vice President was satisfied that the school was offering modern learning technologies, but called for an inclusive approach.
“Yes, you are in business, you can charge competitively for boarders because they require a lot of things like food and boarding facilities, but for day scholars you might need to reconsider because we want orphans and children of widows from surrounding communities to access these learning facilities.
“I know it is possible, I am speaking from experience. My wife and my family run a school in the farming area of Goromonzi, so we made a commitment that children from the farming community should access quality education, and more than 100 students from the community are getting free education at our school,” said VP Chiwenga.
He said the Second Republic under the leadership of President Mnangagwa had made significant strides in achieving universal education, noting that the private sector had responded positively towards the construction of more schools.
The Vice President hoped Northend High School would employ qualified and dedicated teachers who would shape the minds of children.
Mr Mukono promised to cater for the less-privileged.
“Of course, we are in business, but the community around will benefit from this school. We have boarding and day facilities and for day scholars we are targeting learners in communal areas,” he said.
“As you can see the school will be expanded and some more classroom blocks will be built, but for a start in January we will enrol 240 learners. So, we will come up with viable tuition fees that accommodate the less privileged.
“We received a lot of assistance and goodwill from the community when we were building this school and as a way of saying thank you to the community we will ensure that local children also enrol here.”
A local church elder from Johanne Masowe pledged to pay fees for five underprivileged learners.
Online Reporter