adminProsper Ndlovu Senior Reporter
VILLAGERS from Insiza North’s Amazon resettlement area have embarked on a project to build a primary school and are seeking assistance to speed up construction work. At the moment about 200 pupils from the area are using buildings of an old farm compound. A Chronicle news crew visited the area in Ward 16 on Tuesday and met community leaders who appealed for assistance in cash and kind towards the construction project.
“Our children are conducting lessons under squalid conditions and this affects their learning. The school has an enrolment of 200 pupils and those rooms are too small and not conducive for learning,” said the local councillor Mr Luke Dube.
“The site for the new school was availed in 2008 and with the help of development partners we were able to complete a two classroom block late last year.
“We have also completed a block of 10 squat toilets and two for members of staff. The other toilet block is under construction.”
Mr Dube said the villagers were optimistic that the new school would be opened before the end of the year.
He said the project was an initiative of the community with the help of development partners.
Mr Dube said the villagers were keen to establish a proper school and have resolved to contribute towards the project.
“Our ambition is to have this school completed as soon as possible.
We want to build another classroom block and a teachers’ cottage.
“We also want to connect electricity to the school,” said Mr Dube.
The School Development Committee (SDC) chairman, Mr Fanuel Dube, said the school had seven qualified teachers.
He said more attention was required in developing the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme.
“When we started this project we agreed to contribute a bag of cement per family. The villagers showed commitment and we started moulding the bricks,” said Mr Fanuel Dube.
“We received assistance from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) while Zimbabwe Project Trust, a local donor organisation also gave us roofing material for the classroom block and assisted in building the toilet block.”
The SDC chair said the community was concerned about the poor public examinations pass rate in schools.
He said the villagers had resolved to pool resources together to improve the learning environment for their children.
Said Mr Fanuel Dube: “Education is very important and we believe this is the only starting point towards achieving development.
“It is so painful that people from other regions are coming here to take jobs that should be given to our children.”
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