adminGOVERNMENT has identified sites for the construction of an additional 2 056 schools around the country, with most of the schools to be constructed in resettlement areas, Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Dr Lazarus Dokora, has said.
Most resettlement areas in the country do not have enough schools and are being serviced by satellite schools, most which do not have adequate infrastructure.
Government has already started the tendering process for the construction of the schools to deal with country’s deficit of 1 252 primary schools and 804 secondary schools.
Speaking in Chirumanzu district in the Midlands province, Dr Dokora said Government was targeting to construct the initial 100 before the end of the year.
He was the guest of honour at a ceremony to hand over computers to Mukomberanwa Secondary School.
“In 2013 we identified 2 056 places where we want to build schools. Most of these schools will be built in resettlement areas.
“At the moment we are looking for investor partners to construct these schools. As a ministry we have been given a task by Cabinet to build about 100 schools before the end of this year.
“However, if we are disturbed by rain since we are approaching the rain season we will finish before March next year,” he said.
The construction of the schools is also in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) under the Social Services and Poverty Eradication Cluster where the Government seeks to improve the quality and increase access to education and training at all levels.
Last week the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education advertised in the public media inviting companies in their bid for joint venture construction partnerships, which will be carried out in two models.
The deadline for submission of bids has been set at 25 August.
“The Government has approved the project of constructing school infrastructure through joint venture partnerships.
“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is therefore inviting interested companies and institutions who would like to enter into joint venture partnerships for school infrastructure development to express their interest to the ministry.
“The partnership will comprise two models. The first model is the Build Transfer (BT) model, where infrastructure development companies construct school infrastructure and hand it over to the ministry for use and receive loan repayments as agreed at the time of entering an agreement.
“In the second model, institutions provide funds for the construction of school infrastructure and receive their loan payments as agreed at the time of entering the agreement,” reads the advert.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango told Sunday News last week that a number of companies had responded to the advertisement.
She was, however, not in a position to reveal the number of companies that had placed their bids so far.
Dr Utete-Masango said a committee had been set up to look at the applications before deciding which companies will be awarded the tenders.
“There is a committee in place to look at the bids. When the applications close on 25 August the committee will sit and look at all the bids. The committee is made up of the Ministry of Local Government Publics Works Urban and Rural Development, the Attorney General’s office, the State Procurement Board and the Ministry of Finance. The Comptroller and Auditor General will come in as general observers,” she said.
Dr Utete-Masango said the building of more schools would go a long way in dealing with shortage of learning facilities in the country, which has seen some schools resorting to hot-sitting and sharing infrastructure.
She was, however, not at liberty to discuss how much the schools construction project will cost Government.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has started working on crafting the Education Sector Plan for 2016-2020 which will be used to guide learning in all schools in the country.
Last week the ministry held a two-day stakeholders workshop At Management Training Bureau to solicit ideas for the five-year education sector plan.
The Ministry has just finished crafting a new education curriculum, code-named the Zimbabwe Education Blueprint, which is set be introduced next year.
If adopted the new education blueprint will usher in a myriad of changes to the education sector in the country. The proposed curriculum is earmarked for implementation from 2016 to 2022.
Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe in conjunction with Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services donated 80 computers to Mukomberanwa Secondary School that were officially handed over by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
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