Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
THE atmosphere at Sobukhazi High School in Bulawayo’s Mzilikazi suburb yesterday was electric.
It was all joy and excitement as teachers, pupils, parents and guardians, as well as the surrounding community celebrated the arrival of the long-awaited 72-seater school bus.
It was a first of its kind achievement for the school established in 1970, also being one of the first high schools set up in Bulawayo’s high-density suburbs.
Ululation and dancing was the order of the day, as the bus was taken on a tour of the city with a police-escort in some parts of town as it made its grand maiden presence known to all who were close.
The bus is an addition to the school fleet of an old 23-seater Coaster bus and a 16-seater commuter omnibus in a school with an enrolment of 1 500 learners and a capacity of 1 700. The school is still enrolling Form One learners and waiting to enrol the Lower Sixth pupils.
Narrating the journey and work that has been put into achieving the milestone, the headmaster, Mr Cain Ncube, who joined the school in May 2021, said working together with the School Development Committee (SDC) they came up with key development programmes.
“We came up with some programmes which include the resuscitation of furniture because when I came here there was a lot of damaged furniture and that was our number one priority. When that was done, priority number two was to get some bricks for our perimeter wall which is almost halfway and we are waiting to get enough funds to start building it.
“During the course of 2023, we were allowed to charge fees in US dollars and that is when things started moving. We thought of coming up with a bus project. We engaged ZB Bank who encouraged us to get a loan from them so as to purchase a bus.”
He said working with the provincial office of their parent Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, a procurement team was set up and they flighted a tender for the bus. Mr Ncube said they were excited that all worked out and the bus was finally bought and it will go a long way in easing the transport challenges they were faced with and greatly reduce their transport bill and that money will be channelled to other developments.
SDC chairperson, Mr Max Mkandla said as parents their main objective was to work together with the administration to develop the school.
“It is us the parents that pay school fees, so we have to assist the school to map out development projects that can be rolled out for the betterment of the school. We have got a very strong teamwork. This school has been in existence for a long time and the bus is a major achievement. When there are sports we no longer have to hire buses from private companies, we are now using our own bus for school trips and other key school activities. It will also go a long way to generate income for the school through being hired.”
He called on parents that had not paid the bus levies to do so, stating that they would go a long way to cover the loan that was borrowed for the bus, while organisations that pay school fees for underprivileged children tend to delay at times affecting the cash flows of the school.
Mr Mkandla said as SDC and the parents they were to engage further to ensure they come out with strategies on how the bus will be utilised to pick up and drop off pupils so that they get to school on time. SDC vice-chairperson, Mr Nhlanhla Ngwenya who was also in charge of the procurement team, said they were happy that the bus was finally delivered.
“We started to think about the bus early last year and when we saw that it was possible to get one, we started to do all the required processes after the ministry had set up the procurement team, we did not hand pick ourselves. What excites us the most is that the bus is going to bring revenue to the school.
“It is not only going to solve the transport issues that were being faced by the school all these years, but over time it will be able to repay the loan that was taken out to acquire it to hiring it for different events such as church trips, funerals and other activities,” he said.
He said other funds will also be channelled to other key development programmes critical for the school, lessening the burden on parents on forking out money most of the times. A parent with two children at the school, Mr Godfrey Paradza who is also a former pupil and footballer, said the bus project had been long overdue.
“I have two children who learn here, one is in Form Two and another one in Form Four this year. Apparently l also learnt here from 1979 to 1982. I am very happy that the school now has a big bus and done what all other schools have being doing. Hiring buses for school activities and trips was digging deep into the school pockets, and this will be a thing of the past.
“Thumbs up to the SDC who initiated this project, parents that made sure they pay the monies that were required and the school for channelling the funds to what they were really meant for,” said Mr Paradza.
Another parent with a child in Form Three, Mrs Evelyn Khumalo (nee Nyoni) said as parents they were happy with the developments taking place at the school.
“You know as parents when you are told that money is needed for such and such a thing we think that the school is abusing our money and ripping us off. However, today it’s a testament that the money we paid was put to good use. We can really see that the school is developing and really going forward,” she said.
Mrs Monalisa Dube (nee Phiri) from Mpopoma suburb, said her son will now be coming home earlier as the bus will be picking up and dropping them off at key pickup points.
“My son is in Form Two and he loves to play soccer. When the school was still hiring transport for school activities there would be delays and my son would get home late, but now the school has its own bus it is now better.”
Sobukhazi High School’s name is an honour to one of Mzilikazi’s inyangas, who was very important in the building and expansion of the Ndebele State. Mzilikazi KaMatshobana Khumalo, founder of the Ndebele State migrated from Zululand with his group and on their way defeated many ethnic groups and absorbed them into the Ndebele State. Those that were raided, defeated and captured were cleansed by an inyanga called Sobukhazi Masuku, KaPhanyane OkaNqamakazi.
After cleansing they were regarded as clean (bakhazimula) and they became part of the State. The name Sobukhazi is quite symbolic as the place where the school stands was once a dumpsite and is very close to Mzilikazi High School just as Sobukhazi Masuku made people clean and was close to King Mzilikazi.
Online Reporter