President Mnangagwa to commission 17 new Govt schools

Mr Taungana Ndoro

Freeman Razemba Senior Reporter

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will commission 17 new schools built by Government with complementary funding from the OPEC Fund for International Development next Thursday at a ceremony in Chikomba District.

The schools were built countrywide, and are part of efforts to ensure modern facilities and resources for learners and teachers in rural and remote areas.

In a statement yesterday, director of communications and advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Mr Taungana Ndoro said President Mnangagwa would commission the new Government schools complementarily-funded by the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

The schools to be commissioned are located across Zimbabwe: Stakesroom Secondary (Chipinge District), Lawrencedale Primary (Makoni District), Craigeside Primary (Bindura District), Tengenenge Primary (Guruve District), Belgonie Secondary (Mazowe District), Chehamba Primary and Tavoy Secondary (both in Hurungwe District), Sadomba Primary (Makonde District), Justright Primary (Mhondoro-Ngezi District), Nyuni Primary (Mwenezi District), Nyuni Secondary (Mwenezi District), Khokoloza Primary (Binga District), Thame Primary School (Bubi District), Mokgampo Secondary (Mangwe District), Budiriro Primary (Gokwe North), Neta Secondary (Mberengwa District) and the host school Makumimavi Primary.

Mr Ndoro said the landmark investment in education infrastructure was a significant step towards ensuring quality and equitable access to education across Zimbabwe, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4) and the 2030 Education Development Agenda.

“Each primary school will feature an administration block, ablution facilities, an early childhood development block, classrooms, a computer lab, a library, and teachers’ housing.

“The secondary schools will have similar facilities, including science laboratories, computer rooms, and libraries,” said Mr Ndoro.

Government continues to emphasise that geography should not be a barrier to quality education, and that teachers should feel at home in their schools to ensure stability and continuity in the education system.

Mr Ndoro said the commissioning of Makumimavi Primary School and 16 others “is a great milestone and the advent of efforts to ensure that the fundamental architecture of the country’s internationally acclaimed system of education remain intact and strengthened”.

“The 17 new Government schools are set to transform the educational landscape in Zimbabwe, providing modern facilities and resources to pupils and teachers in rural and remote areas.

“This investment in education is a crucial component of the country’s drive towards sustainable development and economic transformation,” said Mr Ndoro.

The development comes as 300 new schools will be registered this term, comprising mainly upgraded satellite schools, while another 50 will be built by the end of the year by development partners, working with Government.

The Second Republic has committed to reduce the distance that learners walk to get to the nearest school. President Mnangagwa has directed that learners should not walk for more than 5km to the nearest school. When the Second Republic came in, some schools were located 20km away from some pupils, resulting in considerable levels of school dropouts as some could not cope with the distances.

In March, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo told the Senate during a question and answer session that more than US$2 million had been disbursed for the construction of schools.

“As far as classrooms are concerned, the Government is doing a lot in terms of classroom construction. This year we got trillions of dollars, which will be channelled to the construction of classrooms,” said Minister Moyo.

“We have identified those schools, satellite schools, and areas where learners are travelling for more than 5km. We are going to build primary and secondary schools so that we reduce the walking distance in line with international provisions.

“Again, it is not just the Government that will be solely involved in school construction; we have development partners who are complementing Government efforts. We have a global partnership in education in the name of Unicef where we have complementary funding.”

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