adminChief Wase Ndiweni of the district’s Osabeni sector was one of the people who expressed much regret about the trend.
Mangwe District was a part of what used to be called Bulilimamangwe district until a few years ago when the Government felt that the area was too large to administer and decided to split it into two — Mangwe on the southern side and Bulilima on the northern and western side of Plumtree.
The author of this opinion article is a native of Bulilima District. Mangwe district is a part of Matabeleland South Province, a region that shares a border (the Limpopo River) with South Africa. For its part, Mangwe District shares a fairly long border with Botswana, Zimbabwe’s western neighbour.
The complaint voiced by the Mangwe District leaders is most valid. The trend dates way back to the 1870s when men from that region of Zimbabwe walked for weeks to get to the Kimberley diamond fields in South Africa. When gold was discovered on the Reef in 1884-85, more young men from Zimbabwe headed south.
Zimbabwe had nothing to offer in terms of formal employment at that time except seasonal agricultural activities meant by and large for subsistence purposes.
Formal schooling was introduced in the Mangwe region in the early 1880s by the Jesuits of the Roman Catholic Church who founded Empandeni Mission. The London Missionary Society (LMS but now called United Congregational Church of Southern Africa — UCCSA) established Dombodema Mission in the Bulilima sector of the area in 1895.
Two years later, the Methodist (Wesleyans) pegged and built Tegwane (Tekwane) Mission a stone’s throw away to the east of Dombodema.
In the same year or so, the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) founded Solusi Mission on the northern part of Bulilima.
Not to be outdone, the Salvation Army built Usher Institute on the eastern reaches of the same district, and the Anglican Church came in with Cyrene Mission much further to the east, about 30km from Bulawayo.
The Roman Catholics went a step further by adding another school, Embakwe, not far away from Empandeni Mission in the second decade of the 20th century.
With all these educational facilities, what did Bulilimamangwe produce? Not much to write home about. Why? Because South African mines, commercial and other industrial sectors as well as service sectors were a counter attraction to the young people who deserted school as soon as they had acquired elementary literacy and numeracy.
They headed south to labour either in the bowels of the earth or do menial work in commerce or industry or as domestic servants, or on tobacco and potato farms around Rustenburg and the East Rand.
Some returned home dressed in double-breasted suits, winter overcoats, old-fashioned American hats and party-coloured shoes. Some were called “blue lights”. Many came back and got married and reared children most of whom went through the same or similar experience later. The current trend is a continuation.
Because of these petty attractions, the region has become one of the sources of raw labour for South Africa. Some of those untutored young people turn into veritable criminals.
Widely affected were and are the Tsholotsho/Nyamandlovu sector, the Gwanda, Filabusi, Matobo (Kezi), Mberengwa, Masvingo, Lupane and Nkayi districts. Even from as far away as Mutare many people went to as far south as Cape Town where a large number worked in the hotel and catering industry. The late minister, Maurice Nyagumbo was one of them.
Some of these fortune seekers never returned but disappeared hair, hide and bone in the bustling slums of Kimberley, Johannesburg or Cape Town. Some got married and settled there, or were deported years later after they had become too old to be employed. It is most unfortunate that many would-be most useful brains are being lost to South Africa instead of serving Zimbabwe.
What can and should be done to arrest this tragic trend?
For the young people of Zimbabwe to wish to remain in their country, they must see a future in it in terms of viable employment opportunities. But for one to get employed, one has to be adequately educated, adequately educated for the employer to be able to train him or her, or for the employer to be satisfied with the trade or professional skills of that individual.
To get educated, one has to be, first motivated, and, second, one has to have enough resources to pay for the requisites at school.
It is important for the child’s parents or guardians to guide their children or wards, it being recognised that some young children may not see why their adult life should be different from that of the local beggar or lay about who sleeps behind the pub at the high density suburb or in a drainage nearby.
Parents and guardians have a responsibility to get their children or wards enrolled at the school nearest to their place of domicile. Their duty is to “push” the children or wards to school.
We should also always remember that spending money on education is a wise investment unlike spending it on beer or on tobacco. The amount of money some parents spend on beer can actually enable some of their children to complete diplomas at least. This is a very tragic truth.
Having “pushed” the children or wards to school, the teachers take over and make the school environment attractive to all the children. The school environment should “pull” the children. How? The school premises should be attractive and clean, and the quality of service (education) should make each day different from the previous one. The child should experience intellectual growth daily.
This can be achieved by a staff that duly prepares its lessons and promptly marks the pupils’ or students’ exercise books. A staff that does this has the respect and love of the children, and has the necessary “pulling” effect on them.
Another important factor is the appearance of the teachers, their homes, that is that of their own children. A teacher whose home or cottage is always clean sends a very good message to the whole community about education.
His home or house does not have to be made of first-class bricks. It must be kept clean even if it is made of wooden poles and mud. It should be hygienically clean.
The school children’s uniform and bodies should also send the right message about education. They should attract and thus “pull” the entire community to itself.
An example of this “pulling” effect of a school was seen, heard and felt at Tekwane Mission from its establishment until some two or so decades ago when the grounds and roads showed signs of being untended.
In the 1930s, 1940s up to the 1950s, the people of Bulilimamangwe thought that “students” were only those boys and girls at Tekwane Mission. It was a source of pride to have one’s child studying at Tekwane. The mission school’s “pulling” effect was tremendous.
Pupils and students should enjoy being at school. It should be the happiest period of their lives. That is achieved by making the school environment socially, and intellectually rewarding.
To help pupils and students understand the benefits of education, educationists, sociologists, or community leaders may be invited to address them on such topics as “Education in the 21st Century,” “Education and You,” or “Education in the Sadc region” or any other subject that can expose the advantages of professionalism.
Many pupils and secondary school students have no idea whatsoever about what profession they would like to pursue. So, such talks can enable them to assess their professional options. It is much better to explain to young people what education is all about at an early stage rather than to wait until they are in Form Four or Form Six when they are then given the traditional career guidance.
An important observation that needs emphasis is that it is the responsibility of the State to create employment by attracting investments from abroad. To say that people should generate their own employment is more or less the same as saying “lizibonele, muzwibonele, muzvionere.”
Another important observation is that it should be a government policy that government offices should employ local people. The call for devolution of power was fuelled by, among other objectives, this wish.
This opinion article is not suggesting or implying that Zimbabwean young people should not go and seek employment abroad. Its message is that they should not desert school but should study and become professional because it is much easier to land a job if one has professional qualifications than if one is empty-handed.
l Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a Bulawayo-based retired journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734328136 or through email [email protected]
Online Reporter