SCORES of villagers under Headman Siyoka in Beitbridge West have mobilised resources to build a school.
Muthangamutshena Secondary School is meant to cut the distance some children in the area are walking to access the nearest facilities. Pupils from Mpande, Malusungane, Bwemula Novhe and Muthangamutshena are walking between 15 and 20 km to access Tshamunangana Secondary School.
The state of affairs has affected the transition of children from primary to secondary school.
“We realised that we had a huge challenge in our area and we then sat down and agreed to put resources together to build a secondary school at a central point for children from Muthangamutshena, Mpande, Bwemula, Novhe and Malusungane,” said Mr Pilate Ndou, a villager.
“So we were given the greenlight by the Beitbridge Rural District Council to build the school and through contributions we have built one classroom block and some toilets to house form 1 and form 2. The building is now at roofing stage and our plan is to have it opening for classes this year.”
He said villagers were seeking help from other players to build at least one standard teachers’ house at the school.
Another villager identified only as Frank said besides putting monetary resources together, they had carried sand, moulded bricks and provided labour for the project.
Beitbridge West Legislator Cde Ruth Maboyi commended members of the community for being proactive.
“It is encouraging to see Zimbabweans collaborating and working towards achieving one goal.
“However, this community needs help and I am appealing to development agencies and luminaries from this area to support them realise their dream,” she said.
Beitbridge Rural District Council (BBRDC) chief executive officer, Mr Peter Moyo said they were expecting to build more schools this year in the area to cater mostly for infants.
He said through devolution funds they had managed to build Novhe Primary School in Beitbridge West that has opened for Early Childhood Development (ECD) and grades one to 3.
Another school for infants, he said had been constructed in the Mahuhushe area with the help of Bitumen World that is upgrading a segment of the Beitbridge to Harare Road.
“We are aware of shortages in learning facilities and hence we have been using funds from central Government to build more schools at central points, to cater especially for infants who cannot walk long distances to school,” said Mr Moyo.
According to UNICEF, about 250 million children in the world cannot read, write or do basic maths, 130 million of them have never attended school.
In general terms, the children excluded from learning opportunities are among the most vulnerable and hard to reach in the world.
For children aged over five years but under the age of eight the normal walking distance to access a school is 3km and 4.8km for those aged over the age of 8 and under 16.
The unavailability or inaccessible nature of learning institutions in the province has resulted in increased school dropouts, mostly during transition from primary to secondary level. – The Chronicle
