THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture yesterday disappointed members of the junior Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education when they failed to turn up to hear children’s grievances on the education sector in Zimbabwe.
VENERANDA LANGA SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER
Some of the school children in the Junior Parliament came all the way from Matabeleland North and not even a single member of the senior committee chaired by Hurungwe West MP Temba Mliswa was available to interact with the members of the junior Parliament.
After waiting for almost an hour, members of the junior Parliamentary Committee on Education chaired by Tendai Mhokore handed a report to Parliament on the state of the education system in Zimbabwe, saying there was shortage of schools, lack of proper infrastructure and low staffing levels for science subjects.
“The major findings were that there was shortage of schools, poor infrastructure and inadequate learning facilities, particularly for the disabled children, inadequate teaching staff dominated by temporary teachers and poor and inadequate sanitation particularly at rural schools,” Mhokore said.
“Children travel distances ranging from five to 15 kilometres to school, and at Mahenye area of Chipinge South, the long distances children travel to school subject them to serious dangers of being attacked by wild animals.”
The child MPs’ report also brought up issues such as inadequate classroom blocks, textbooks, teachers’ houses and classroom furniture as posing a big challenge in most rural schools.
“In Kezi, Matabeleland South Pupils sit on sacks and dung floors and unearthed benches. This alone has compromised education as authenticated by low pass rates at such schools. Some schools like Weighham Primary (Mutasa South, Manicaland Ward 25) have children learning under trees and sitting on the ground. The situation becomes unbearable during the rainy and cold seasons,” they said.
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The report said some children living with disabilities were at a disadvantage as there were few special schools to enrol them.
“Such children remain at home and are prone to abuse. Children with disabilities all over the country in both rural and urban settings are segregated against, with their needs not prioritised. Most rural schools do not have adequate toilets and boreholes posing a threat to the health of children.”
They said some schools did not have incinerators for disposing of girls’sanitary pads.
“It was noted that the blair toilets flood during the rainy season and cannot be used, while flushable toilets cannot be used to dispose of sanitary pads.”
