Lutheran church seeks to regain control of 177 schools

THE Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) is finally taking steps to reclaim its 177 primary and secondary schools that were seized by rural district councils on the orders of the Rhodesian government.
The takeover happened after over 400 students left Manama High School for Zambia to train as freedom fighters in 1977.

Currently, the church only operates 13 schools, with the bulk situated in Beitbridge and Gwanda in Matabeleland South province, as well as Mberengwa in the Midlands province. Bishop, Michael Dube, leader of the Western Region Diocese, expressed the church’s eagerness to reclaim its schools, which were constructed using church funds.

The church aims to begin by repossessing 10 schools, but it is facing resistance from some local authorities who want to keep schools as a source of income.

While acknowledging the resistance, Bishop Dube lamented that the church would not tire in its quest to regain control of its schools.

He emphasised that the ELCZ aims to teach children the values of the church, alongside academic education.

“The process has already started, we want to take back our schools so that we can teach our children the values of the church besides just academic education. The Rhodesian government saw our church as a niching ground for guerrillas, especially after the 1977 incident,” said Bishop Dube.

“This resistance is expected because we know that schools are also a source of income for these local authorities, but we are determined to get what is ours; those schools were constructed using church funds,” said Bishop Dube.

Primary schools run by the church at the moment are Burure, Mnene, West Nicholson, Vundembe and Beibridge Mission, while secondary schools are Sumbe, Burure, Chegato, Musume, Masase, Mnene, Zezani and Manama.

The Church also has primary school resource centres for the visually impaired at Mnene, Musume, Masvingo and Beitbridge, with secondary school resource centres at Chegato and Masase.

The ELCZ became a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in 1963 when it was mainly concentrated in Mberengwa, Gwanda and Beitbridge districts where its presence was centred on mission stations.

However, the church has since spread throughout the country with a strong presence in urban centres.
The oldest mission is Mnene Mission in Mberengwa. It houses a primary school, a high school and a hospital that has been designated a district/referral hospital and a nurses training school.