Sunday News
26 September 2010
Sunday News Reporter
POOR infrastructure is affecting academic performance at rural primary schools with some of them struggling to produce a single pupil who records passes in Grade Seven examinations.
In an interview with the Sunday News, the headmistress of Lake Alice Primary School in Lupane District, Mrs Sibongile Songolo, said her school had been recording zero percent a pass rate until 2007, when a non-governmental organisation intervened and helped them improve their infrastructure.
“As from 2007, when we started working with World Vision to improve our infrastructure, our school results have improved. In 2007, it jumped from zero percent, in the previous years, to 14 percent. In 2008, we recorded 33 percent but in 2009 dipped again to 6 percent. The decrease was mainly caused by the shortage of human resources. We had only four teachers in the whole school,†she said.
Mrs Songolo was speaking on the sidelines of the official opening of two blocks of classes that the community built with assistance from the non-governmental organisation, World Vision.
Mrs Songolo said, as a school, they were now better placed to achieve good results.
“For years, the Lake Alice community has struggled to come up with structures for pupils and teachers without any success. However, I think throughout the entire process of building these classes the attitude of the community towards education changed.
“At the beginning, parents seemed be not interested as if they were doing the school a favour. But later, they worked hard to bring water, sand and build these two blocks and rehabilitated the rest. It dawned on them that schools belong to communities and parents and not the teachers,†she said.
Mrs Songolo said the school had nine teachers and an enrolment of 360 pupils.
“We are now better positioned to do well. World Vision provided us with furniture, 160 chairs and 80 desks for the infants and 90 desks for the seniors. They also gave us furniture for teachers and exercise books.
“This kind gesture contributes tremendously in helping the school provide education in this community,†she said.
The NGO also gave the school swings and see-saws to make a play centre.
“They also gave us 20 copies of English and Mathematics textbooks for Grade 3s up to Grade 7s. They also helped us develop an orchard where we have 63 trees surviving,†Mrs Songolo said.
The headmistress said the school still faced a number of challenges that included absenteeism.
“Pupils absent themselves unnecessarily, we are also facing economic hardships and as a result parents fail to provide children with stationery, we also have the shortage of textbooks which is a drawback as they are the backbone of primary school education,†she said.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Provincial Education director, Mrs Boitathelo Mnguni, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, said his ministry could not resource schools without the help of NGOs and the communities.
“My ministry alone will not be able to resource adequately all our schools, more so that we are coming from a very difficult economic period. “It is the involvement of all stakeholders in a multi-faceted and multi-sectorial approach that will be able to address many challenges the education sector is facing today,†he said.
The minister said there was a need to work as a united front to make meaningful strides in education. “The education sector has indeed a mountain to climb. Together as a united force we shall be able to revitalise the sector,†he said.
Speaking at the ceremony, the national director of world Vision, Mr Edward Brown, said it was his organisation’s aim that children should be educated for life.
“In addition to this school, World Vision also supported 18 other primary and secondary schools in Lupane in the areas of water and sanitation, infrastructural development, textbook support and in the area of science education,†he said.
He said the investment at Lake Alice Primary School was made possible by the kind funding from World Vision Canada to the tune of US$53 000.
The operations manager for the Matabeleland region, Mr Khumbulani Ndlovu, said it was important for parents to realise that the school belonged to them.
“It is important for parents to take responsibility and nothing will ever move if there is no money and there are no contributions by parents. There is no way we can run away from the money issue,†he said.
The World Vision official in Lupane district, Mr Mandlenkosi Masango, said there was a need to strengthen school development committees (SDCs).
“In some schools that we work with there is a gap in terms of SDCs. SDCs are not sure of what they are supposed to do. We have budgeted for the training of SDCs so that they catch up.
“In terms of money, what is surprising is that most communities always say they don’t have money. What is surprising also is that if someone dies that person is speedily buried. Communities’ attitude must change. In Matabeleland we have a problem of attitude. In some areas when they talk about school, people stand up, they compete to assist,†he said.