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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
FATIMA Primary School in Lupane, Matabeleland North are the 2019 champions in the National Aids Council (NAC) National Schools Quiz Competition on HIV and Aids special needs category catering for pupils with disabilities.
The school which is the only one offering special needs learning in the province, sent five hearing impaired pupils to the national finals in Harare last week and came out victors after scoring 33 points ahead of powerhouses Musami of Mashonaland East and Jairos Jiri from Midlands who came second and third with 24 and 22 points.
The five hearing impaired pupils who represented the school and province are team captain Sandra Nkomazana, Vusumuzi Dube, Mduduzi Sibanda, Anele Ndlovu and Lindokuhle Mlotshwa who were led by the school’s teacher-in-charge of special needs and disability Ms Memory Kashiware.
Provincial Education Director Mr Jabulani Mpofu said the school had done the province proud.
“We are very happy and this shows that we are working together as stakeholders to empower all our pupils whether able bodied or with disability,” he said.
Lupane district learner officer-in-charge of Learner Welfare, Psychological Services and Special Needs Education Department Mr Leon Tshuma who went with the team to Harare said: “It was an emotional competition seeing such kids perform. We saw more ability than disability in these children hence we need to support them at least with information because children with disability are vulnerable.
“Let’s go a step further so they get information on HIV and Aids and life skills. We are proud as Matabeleland North and as Lupane for having conquered the whole nation with this group of hearing-impaired pupils and this is just the beginning of big things to come for the province.”
Last year the school came third at the same competition.
Being the only special needs school in the province, Fatima did not compete in the preliminary stages at cluster, zonal, district and provincial level to earn a ticket to the national level where they prevailed in the first round and made it to the final.
In the final they beat traditional powerhouses that are equipped with all resource units and facilities for the disadvantaged children.
Fatima Primary accommodates the special needs classes without proper facilities and has an enrolment of 39 disabled pupils: 22 of them with hearing impairments, 11 visual, four intellectual while two are physically impaired.
A non-governmental organisation CAMFED is renovating some buildings at the school to suit needs of pupils with special needs.
The theme for the competition was: “Catch them young, leave no learner behind. Get to zero new HIV infections.”
For their efforts, Fatima won a floating trophy and RTGS$5 000 to go to the school as well as RTGS$800 for the pupils.
In the secondary schools category for the disabled, King George VI from Bulawayo emerged the winners with 33 points ahead of Emerald Hill from Harare and Henry Murray of Masvingo who came second and third respectively with 31,5 and 25,5 points.
Schools also participated in the able-bodied category and Matabeleland North was represented by Mtshibini Primary also from Lupane who did not make it to the top three.—@ncubeleon
Online Reporter