adminMarvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
THE government has pledged to improve infrastructure in rural communities under its infrastructure development programme to enhance the provision of quality education.Speaking during a programme for the validation of the curriculum framework at Jahunda Primary School in Gwanda Town, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora said the government would address the problem of poor infrastructure in rural schools.
He said under the infrastructure development programme, new schools would be built to cut down on long distances travelled by rural children.
Dokora said the government would also improve the accommodation situation for teachers.
“We have now a focused approach to infrastructure development. For the past years we have not invested in infrastructure for schools. In the rural areas, children are still walking up to 17km to the nearest schools, we don’t want that,” said the minister.
“We want to build teachers’ houses, classrooms and laboratories. We must provide a complete solution.”
Dokora said the construction of new schools would help decongest schools and reduce the teacher-pupil ratio.
The country has a 2,056 deficit of schools and the infrastructure development programme seeks to tackle the schools shortage.
Dokora said the government was committed to providing quality education that would have a significant impact on the economy.
He pleaded with community leaders to work together with the ministry in providing solutions to problems faced by the education sector.
School authorities were encouraged to conduct audits and be transparent in the manner in which funds were utilised so that they gained the trust of parents and other partners.
The Minister of State for Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs Cde Abedinico Ncube thanked the ministry for making strides in improving the education sector and emphasised the need for people to remain united for development. He paid tribute to President Mugabe for his immense contribution in educating the nation.
“We appeal for improvement especially in the teaching of Science so that we have pilots and engineers coming from this region,” said Cde Ncube adding that some Community Share Ownership Schemes had played a crucial role in enhancing the learning of Sciences through construction of laboratories among other things.
Chief Mathema told the meeting that teachers in rural areas needed better accommodation.
“Most of the F2 houses being built in schools are not good, teachers spend most of their time in the schools than in their homes and we feel there is a need to build good houses for them,” he said.
Gwanda Central Member of Parliament Cde Edson Gumbo said there was a need to attract skilled personnel who left Zimbabwe for greener pastures to come back and contribute towards the development of the country.
Another participant said Matabeleland South Province was rich in natural resources and most areas were into mining hence the need to introduce artisanal mining lessons in schools.
“We have mining activities taking place in all our districts and we feel artisanal mining should be introduced in schools. Pupils should be taught how to operate mining machines such as detectors rather than teach them things that won’t help them,” said the participant.
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