Herald
24 March 2011
Herald Reporter
Government will soon print textbooks to ease shortages in secondary schools, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart has said.
Launching the Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Programme in Chitungwiza yesterday, Minister Coltart said a survey was being conducted to assess the different needs of schools across Zimbabwe.
“A survey on book shortages is being carried out and by the beginning of the second term we will start printing according to the number of books that are needed,” he said.
Minister Coltart said the ministry was looking at the six core subjects; Mathematics, Science, English, History and Geography.
“Printing of the required number of books will start as soon as the survey is complete and that is around the beginning of second term.
“We expect to start distribution in the late half of this year,” he said.
The peri-urban Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Programme has seen seven schools in Zimbabwe getting gutters and tanks to store up to 30 000 litres of water.
Tasimukira Primary School in Chitungwiza received seven such tanks, which the minister said came in handy in providing the school with an alternative source of water.
He said this would also help avert outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
The International Relief Development started the rainwater-harvesting programme in 2009 and has donated facilities worth US$4,5 million to date.