Schools urged to upgrade

Ngoni Dapira Post Correspondent
SCHOOLS have been urged to complement Government’s socio-economic turnaround blueprint, Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation.

This was said by Manicaland Provincial Education Director, Mr Edward Shumba during the Mutare Junior School official commissioning of school projects and speech and prize giving day commemorations last Tuesday.

Mr Shumba commissioned a 65-seater Zhong Tong bus, a 50-horse-power Massey Ferguson tractor, computer lab, office administration block, weather station, main entrance gate and steel door strong room.

He said such upgrades were pivotal not only to improve the appearance of the school, but also to complement the evolving educational system in the modern days of information and communication technology.

“I was very impressed by the knowledge of computers displayed by children in the computer lab. This is the future and we expect all schools to upgrade in this route. The new set up at the main gate increases safety of children and enhances the appearance of the school, while the strong room will give me peaceful nights to know that during Grade Seven examinations the exam scripts are safe,” he said.

Mr Shumba urged the use of the tripartite system in schools which incorporates parents, teachers and students to ensure smooth running of schools affairs.

He urged parents to pay school fees saying education was a constitutional right of every child, while teachers should educate and develop students wholly.

Mr Shumba also bemoaned moral decadence among children, blaming both parents and teachers.

“It is you parents and teachers who are responsible for grooming good citizens. It is you teachers who should teach children the right culture and doctrine from this tender age of Early Child Development,” said Mr Shumba.

Mr Shumba also sent warning shots to teachers sexually abusing students in schools and said the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education would not hesitate to instantly discharge such rotten elements out of the system for eternity.

The School Development Committee chairman, Mr Ransom Choofamba, encouraged parents to support school programmes.

The school headmaster, Mr Rodger Sithole, emphasized on the need for parents to pay schools fees, saying some parents were going for over two years without paying a cent, something that was hindering the day to day administration of the school.

Mr Sithole added that the current 1 800 enrolment at the school was now straining resources.

He said they were forced to introduce hot-sitting due to the growing demand for vacancies by parents in the catchment area each year.

He also commended his teaching staff for remaining motivated in upholding a pass rate above 97 percent since 2005 to date despite the prevailing economic challenges in the country.