LEARNING in a proper classroom is often taken for granted, but not so for pupils at Tsatsi Secondary School in Mazowe who until recently were conducting lessons squashed in a farmhouse and a garage.
BY PHYLLIS MBANJE
Following a generous donation from the Japanese Embassy which facilitated the construction and furnishing of three double classroom blocks, the students will for the first time experience learning in a standard classroom.
The construction and furnishing of the classroom blocks was made possible by a grant of $89 384 which was extended to a non-governmental organisation, Terre des Hommes Italia (TDHI), the implementing partner.
Both teachers and parents helped to mould bricks and spearheaded the construction of the classrooms.
Speaking during the handover ceremony recently, Japanese ambassador to Zimbabwe Yoshinobu Tendai Hiraishi said they had been appalled by the previous conditions which made it difficult for the students to concentrate.
“We place particular emphasis on support to secondary education, given low enrolment and inadequate financial conditions,” he said.
The school was formerly run in the farmhouse, the veranda and garage as classrooms, where facilities for both teachers and pupils were totally inadequate.
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Pupils were learning in totally unacceptable conditions, often in the open air and exposed to rain. This resulted in poor academic performance.
“It was only natural that such a situation led to examination results below average and in spite of this, enrolment continued to increase,” said Hiraishi.
Tsatsi Secondary is a satellite school, providing education from Forms 1 to 4 and is the only co-educational school in the district.
It caters mostly for vulnerable children from the local farming communities. Fees at the other two schools in the area are beyond the reach of parents who are subsistence farmers with limited income.
The Japanese ambassador urged both teachers and parents to play an active role in the maintenance of the school. “We expect Tsatsi Secondary School to serve many future generations,” he said.
Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora stressed the importance of education and community participation in improving standards of learning.
