Entumbane High School unveils new bus, takes progress to a higher level

BULAWAYO’s Entumbane High School has taken its pupils and staff’s welfare to another level after it bought a new 72-seater bus valued at US$210 000.

The bus was bought using a loan from a local bank and was delivered to the school yesterday. This is the school’s first major purchase in its 40-year history. Established in 1984, Entumbane High School bought a mini-bus coaster in 2011 and a kombi in 2017 hence it continued to encounter transport challenges.

The purchase of the larger bus means the school no longer has challenges in providing transport to pupils and members of staff and is now able to generate additional revenue from hiring out the bus. Following authorisation from the provincial educational directorate, the school administration and parents agreed to apply for a loan to buy the bus.

Speaking during the brief commissioning ceremony, the school head, Mr Benjamin Mloyi said he was happy that the school authorities had finally addressed the problem of shortage of transport for pupils and staff. He said although the delivery of the bus was delayed by two months, they were happy as a school that they now have a reliable transport which has potential to generate revenue.

“The arrival of the bus was greeted by wide excitement because our pupils can now travel in one reliable bus. The delivery of the bus was however delayed by two months because of procedures at the border,” said Mr Mloyi.

He said parents, the school development committee, teachers and pupils were all happy that the bus has finally been delivered and the challenge of transport for pupils and teachers is now a thing of the past.

Mr Mloyi said the school will hire out the bus to generate revenue to meet the school’s other expenses.

“This bus is not just for us as a school but also belongs to the local community, which is free to hire it during funerals, church meetings, weddings and other such events,” he said.

Mr Mloyi said other schools were also free to hire the bus when they travel for sporting activities in and outside Bulawayo.

He commended the school’s parents for their support saying the idea to buy a bigger bus was agreed at a parents meeting last year.

“It has taken less than a year for this idea to come to fruition, which confirms the parents’ dedication to the welfare of their children and the teachers. The school’s image is enhanced as the pupils move around in this brand new bus and to me this signifies growth and development of the school,” said Mr Mloyi.

He said to improve the school’s security, parents had also funded construction of a security wall and also put modern signposts to improve the school’s visibility.

“I want to say a lot is happening to improve the quality of education which again demonstrates the parents’ commitment to the education of their children. Our pupils now have laptops among other modern gadgets meant to improve the quality of education,”said Mr Mloyi.

School Development Committee chairperson, Mr Edmund Sibanda, said the school was spending a lot of money to hire big buses to transport pupils and staff hence the decision to buy its own bus.

“We hope we are going to save a lot of money and even generate additional revenue following the delivery of this bus,” he said.

Mr Sibanda also paid tribute to parents for supporting the purchase of the bus which he said will also directly benefit them as members of the local community.

“You have heard that as members of the local community you are free to hire the bus for your events,” he said.