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Freedom Mutanda
“…some are born great…” while some have greatness thrust upon them, so goes the oft-quoted Shakespearian statement. It is not often that we have living legends and we talk and write about them in their life time.In April this year, Curleybur Manyuni Sithole, born in 1949 in Chinaa Kraal under Chief Musikavanhu, retired from the teaching profession after forty years of teaching English, Literature in English and History.
His story is littered with glorious anecdotes and his former students attest to the fact that his retirement leaves the teaching profession poorer. If it was possible to stretch the retirement age to another landmark, they would gladly have wanted him to continue teaching.
A man has to rest.
Who is this living legend?
One may ask: who is this great Curleybur Manyuni who many students thought was called Caleb as a result of their failure to pronounce the name Curleybur?
“I started Sub A at Chinaa Primary School in 1956 and completed Standard 3 there in 1960. Then, I moved to Chikore Central Primary School where I did Standard 4-6. For form 1-4, I was at Chikore Secondary School. From 1969-1970, I was at St Ignatious College (Chishawasha) doing Form 5-6. Joining the then University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1971-1973 was an experience I will always cherish.” Mr Manyuni enthused.
His former student, a respected teacher of English, Tusabantu, relives the day Curleybur Manyuni arrived at Mount Selinda Secondary School way back in 1974.
“He was a young man straight from the University. He taught History. We complained about his constant reference to UR, how luxurious a life he led there and were about to complain to the Principal when all of a sudden he taught us the French Revolution in a manner that woke us from our slumber. He was very good. He later taught us Literature in English in a manner that made us love the language. From the very beginning, he was a very talented teacher.”
At the time he joined Mount Selinda Institute, Manyuni’s colleagues included the late provincial heroes Solomon Mahaka and John Dhliwayo. Aaron Mudekunye, popularly known as Mhofu was also his contemporary. He didn’t stay at the school as he had to do his Grad C.E at the University. St Benedicts College in Macheke was his next port of call but the Catholic authorities were forced to close the institution in 1977 as the liberation war intensified. From 1978, he taught at Chikore.
Post independence teaching experience
1982 saw him transfer to the Chikore High School’s sister school, Mount Selinda Secondary School, where he established himself as an excellent teacher of English with the result that he assumed the Head of Department of English position-a post he held up to the time of his retirement- at the revered institution. For almost 34 years he churned brilliant students of the subject until his retirement on 25 April 2014.
Ishmael Ntuli, a good teacher of English in his own right, said, “He was my H.O.D from 1982-1993. He displayed a remarkable sense of maturity and conscientiousness to duty. He set a very competent pace and executed his work with unparalleled enthusiasm. As a result, Mount Selinda High School has perpetually celebrated good English language results.”
Such was his ability and humility that Mr Chitombo, the Deputy Head of the school, said proudly, “He was a dedicated and hard working teacher rare to find among colleagues of his age. He had a policy of ‘complain after duty’.”
He taught History when the liberation struggle was at its decisive stage and the white Rhodesians saw teachers as responsible for the flood that joined the fighting ranks of the nationalist movement. What was his contribution towards the prosecution of the war?
“The Chimurenga was a torrid period. We, History teachers, were always suspected of influencing students to join the liberation effort. We deliberately, at least in writing, avoided notes on ‘Revolution.’ However, as we taught in the classroom, we used those words. Some of the students who were directly influenced include Cde John Chikwere Dhliwayo(the late former Zanu PF MP for Chipinge). At St Benedicts Mission between 1976 and 1977, I directly influenced the Mutasa and Mangoma boys to cross the border and prosecute the war.” Mr Manyuni said.
Talking to some of his former students, Mr Manyuni is described as a humble but extremely versatile teacher who made the teaching of the English language simple. I caught up with Carlton Mtanda, his former student who is now an assistant director in a government department.
“I remember him as a very good teacher. He would tilt his head to the side looking slightly at the ceiling and smiling when stressing a point. He gave us spellings regularly. Among them was ‘foolscap’. I remember I was one of the few who spelt the word well. He later told us the origin of that word.”
“He explained that in Medieval Britain, people used a double sheet of paper to shield their faces from the sun. It became known as a fool’s cap (cap ye benzi). As time went on ‘foolscap’ took its modern meaning. Mr Manyuni gesticulated a lot.”
Carlton ended his eulogy by saying the teacher was so good that he could easily have joined a Teachers’ College but he devoted his 40 years of teaching to the empowering of the little ones rather than take up lectureship like what many of his contemporaries such as Booker Jambaya who is a lecturer at the Zimbabwe Open University, did.
Some of his students say he ‘marked’ newspaper articles. He said there was no reason to do that. In his teaching, he took extracts from anywhere (newspapers included) for literary criticism. In that vein, any passage-good or bad-can be criticized. Therefore, it is incorrect to say he deliberately checked language mistakes in newspapers.
He sees a world of difference in terms of access to education in post-independent Zimbabwe as compared to the bottleneck system of education espoused by the racist Rhodesia regime that intentionally made blacks to fail for the few to get to secondary level.
“After independence, education was liberated as many schools were opened. However, more still needs to be done in improving standards of education, teacher accommodation, salaries and so forth.” He said.
He urged teachers to soldier on saying retreating was not an option adding, “Our goal is to nurture our youngsters.
These are innocent souls.
“In future, they will be proud of us as they will be our engineers, doctors, teachers, pilots and so on. Let’s be diligent, focused and above all let’s love and respect our wonderful challenging profession.”
Asked on the one person who shaped his life, he did not take a deep breath and think.
“The late former P.E.D Mr Mack Major, the former head of Chikore Secondary School. He was my History teacher and the headmaster as well. He liked me very much because I was very good in class and soccer. He is the one who encouraged me to go for Form 5 instead of T1 at Gwelo Teachers’ College. He liked me so much he acted like a ‘father’ to me.”
Over the years, Mr Manyuni acted as senior teacher but his love for the classroom never diminished till his retirement day. Indeed, he was and still is a teacher par excellence. He became animated in class although he appeared to be an introvert to the undiscerning observer.
Now that he is retired, does he want to take up part time teaching or he is eager to pass on some tips of how to be a good teacher of English as he writes his memoirs? With a twinkle of his eye and the ever gesticulation, he looked at me and sighed.
“I have a wife, children and grandchildren who love my presence. Now I am retired but not tired. I will concentrate on my personal affairs. I intend to write a book on my experiences as a teacher and in that book, I will highlight what should be done to improve our teaching profession.”
In Chipinge where he built his house he stays with his wife who is a senior nurse at Chipinge General Hospital. He hopes to rest and rest but will consider offers.
“I have been offered part time teaching but I haven’t yet made up my mind whether I will take that or not in some private schools.”
Mr Curlybur Manyuni Sithole has four decades under his belt as a classroom practitioner specializing in the teaching of English and Literature of English. He is a mine that needs to be exploited for the betterment of the subject. We hope his anticipated book will see the light of day.
Ironically, the current Head of Department of English at the school, Miss Cecilia Ntuli, is his former student that he taught the basics of the subject from 1988-1989.
Mount Selinda High School will never be the same as the giant makes way for the new kids on the block when it comes to the teaching of English; it is my fervent hope that he would take up consultancy work in the same way that Morris Mtisi has taken up the cudgel to ensure that passing English at ‘O’ and ‘A’ level becomes as easy as ABC.
Last Friday, at the Speech and Prize Giving Day, Mr Manyuni Sithole received the Best Teacher award as a fitting contribution to his unstinting stay at the beacon of education in Chipinge which is now glowingly called Chinyuka which in simple language means a spring or oasis of knowledge.
As he goes into private life, let the world acknowledge the good work he has done over the years notwithstanding the numerous challenges hurled at him over the years. Teachers may not have a heroes’ acre of their own; they can establish a Hall of Fame in districts, provinces and at national level.
Curleybur Manyuni Sithole, in my humble submission, deserves to be a Hall of Fame inductee.
Online Reporter