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Conrad Mupesa-Mashonaland West Bureau
KUTAMA College, established over 100 years ago offering education to male students only, has been turned into a mixed boarding facility, opening doors to female learners.
The Roman Catholic School took in the first batch of 134 female students who are in Forms One to Three this year.
The experiment, according to the school leadership, paid off.
The institution’s board chairman and High Court judge, Justice Joseph Mafusire said the bold move of introducing girls ignited a beacon of progress, championing gender equality and empowerment in line with the African proverb that says if you educate a girl child you educate the whole nation.
The idea to introduce female students was tried soon after independence in 1980 but faced resistance.
He was speaking during the tour of various successful projects implemented by the school including the dairy, garment and state-of-the-art hostels ahead of the annual Speech and Prize Giving Day ceremony on Saturday.
The hostel was gutted by fire in 2022 with over 170 Form Two male students escaping unhurt but losing all of their stuff.
“Kutama College recognises the profound impact of girls’ education on societal growth.
“By fostering an inclusive environment, the college cultivates holistic experience.
“Initially, the idea was first mooted in 1980 but was not welcomed.
“As a new board, we then looked into the idea carefully and introduced it, as it is, it is pleasing to note that we have at least 130 female students currently.
“After this hostel was gutted by fire in 2022, an idea to repair it was shot down due to cost implications involved.
“We then opted to rebuild it into a state-of-the-art facility to cater for female learners that we have introduced.
“Our hope is to introduce more females who will probably be equal to the boys enrolled,” he said.
Parents who attended the ceremony applauded the school for opening the historic facility to female learners.
“This marks a turn towards positive and inclusive learning in line with the Government’s idea of leaving no one and no place behind,” one parent said.
Kutama Head, Father Francis Mukoyi, said the projects introduced by the college were playing a pivotal role in revenue collection and the school’s sustainability.
“Our thrust is to make sure that the project contributes to the school’s budget which, in turn, would see a drop in the school fees,” he said.
Through its dairy parlour, the school produces close to 50 litres of milk a day which is at least 10 litres more to its daily requirements.
It also produces uniforms which are sold to students at relatively low prices.
The college also envisages to use its embroidery machines to rake in more money from neighbouring schools and institutions.
The Government has commended the college for introducing various projects that exposes learners to hands-on learning in line with the thrust of the Heritage-based education model.
Provincial Education Director, Mr Gabriel Mhuma congratulated the school’s authorities for heeding Government calls to go vocational and ensure that high school learning becomes technical.
“Mashonaland West is now dubbed the best province and one of the reasons is the contribution to vocational and sport learning by Kutama College.
“As a Ministry, we have adopted a Heritage-based Education curriculum and this is being emphasised here,” he said.
Some of the schools that have also gone vocational in the province include Chinhoyi High School and Karoi’s Chikangwe High.
Online Reporter