adminDaniel Chigunwe Mash Central Correspondent
Government, through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, has expressed concern over the emergence of bush boarding facilities, especially in Mashonaland Central.
Guruve District schools inspector Mr Pinias Dambuza also said the district’s school pass rates were not encouraging due to shortages of learning material.
“We are recording zero percent pass rates in several schools within this district,” he said. “The major reason being lack of learning resources like books. We are depending mainly on resources that have been provided by UNICEF, but this is not enough as the majority of the pupils are not accessing books, especially in the wake of the new curriculum.”
Guruve has 75 schools, with 58 being primary schools.
As a result, access to secondary education is considered to be a major challenge for most learners, who are forced to walk long distances.
In some desperate cases, they are forced to resort to bush boarding facilities.
“There are learners from places like Impinge Mine, whose nearest secondary schools are Mvurwi High, which is about 25km, or Nyamhondoro, which is about 30km, and they cannot afford commuting on a daily basis; hence, we see more of them renting houses in surrounding residential areas,” said Mr Dambuza.
“They will be staying alone, exposing them to a lot of temptations. I was tasked by my seniors to compile a report on the rising concerns over bush boarding. It t is a sensitive case, which I cannot divulge much on until after I present my findings to them.”
In Guruve, there are learners reportedly squatting at shop buildings at the growth point.
The learners are paying rentals to owners of the buildings.
Many learners in the district, he said, were forced to drop out of school after failing to secure proper accommodation.
Online Reporter