Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube , Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) is engaging learning institutions in the country with a view of setting up school-based traffic safety clubs and training centres to integrate road safety into the curriculum and protect lives by preventing accidents.
The move was inspired by numerous fatal road accidents involving school children across the country with the recent one involving Tynwald High School in Harare where six learners perished.
Many schools organise and undertake school trips to resort areas around the country especially at the end of the year after the general examinations and sadly some have been involved in accidents.
Speaking at the National Association of Primary School Heads (Naph) annual conference in Victoria Falls yesterday, TSCZ managing director Mr Munesu Munodawafa said 94 percent of road traffic accidents are directly caused by human error hence the need to raise awareness.
He said traffic safety training centres are in Murehwa, Hartley, while one is under construction in Seke and the now defunct Bulawayo one is set to be reactivated.
“Naph has seen it important to include us in their programme because in reaching out to them, it becomes clear that a number of road traffic accidents that have happened involving school children is disturbing including the most recent one in Chimanimani where we lost six lives.
“Schools have a role to integrate road traffic safety into the curriculum by just teaching children jingles or issues that integrate road rules and safety awareness. We have been working and we will continue to work with schools and I invite additional ones that are ready so we come through and set up traffic safety clubs,” said Mr Munodawafa.
He said road traffic safety is not about people who drive cars but everyone is at risk or has a role to play to prevent accidents.
Each club will have 40 people while teachers will also be trained into road champions.
Schools that will set up clubs will be required to allow other schools and community members to access the facility.
Mr Munodawafa said by next year TSCZ will have fully implemented the school clubs and training centres concepts.
“We are looking at a maximum of 40 students that will be members and become champions at that particular school because that includes also universities. We are currently in discussion with the University of Zimbabwe and Chinhoyi University of Science and Technology because we are losing lives at institutions. When we have set up the clubs we let them run at the institution but we will continue to give them technical support,” he said.
TSCZ’s objective is to promote road safety clubs in schools and promote road safety traffic centres.
“We are constructing traffic safety training centres. We will help you put up the constitution of those clubs, run and sustain those clubs which should promote traffic awareness, engage stakeholders, participate in traffic safety programmes and project safe principles and practices for people to uphold rules.
“Because of that it has heightened the need for us to meet as many schools as possible so this forum to us is God-sent. Our request is that when you form the clubs you should be able to teach others around,” said Mr Munodawafa.
He urged schools to plan well in advance for pupils’ trips saying key checkpoints are the state and capability of drivers, the state of the vehicle and the distance and terrain of the journey to be taken.
He said the plan is to reach as many schools across the country as possible.
The Naph conference ended yesterday and was attended by more than 1 200 school heads.–@ncubeleon
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter