The other grades also squeeze into single rooms, with only the Grade Sevens enjoying the modest comfort of learning on their own. The children have one qualified teacher and three temporary teachers. The qualified teacher, having completed training in 2005, automatically became the headmaster.
Shift your imagination to the cumbersome journey to Nkayi using the incomplete, abandoned Nkayi-Bulawayo road, not to mention the hazardous dusty strip road and the bridgeless rivers one has to cross to get to the school.
As if the torture is not enough, the area lacks cell-phone reception – as if to signal that the dwellers are citizens of a different country. Because of the difficulties in accessing this remote school, education officers are a rare sight. Tales have been told of teachers who made a U-turn even before they could reach the school; during the rainy season, the road leading to the school is almost impassable.
Even though the local MP, Sithembiso Nyoni, has donated paint and a few bags of cement using the Constituency Development Fund, hardly any facelift has taken place. The school, according to locals, has for long time been asking well-wishers to help with building materials, but the requests have not yielded much.
There is urgent need to repair the walls that could collapse on the unsuspecting pupils at any time.
The children who have to cross Mangwizi River to the school are forced to opt for a longer but safer route, forcing them to travel more than 15km from Monday to Friday.
According to villagers, most pupils opt to stay at home during the wet season, with some dropping out of school completely and joining the trek to South Africa as undocumented migrants who gain access to the southern neighbour through undesignated points along the border.
However, even for those that choose to brave the rivers and harsh weather, concentration in class, where a whole class shares one textbook, is compromised, resulting in poor grades.
Villager leaders say girls are worse affected than boys, as they cannot endure the physical demands of walking long distances and crossing flooded rivers, strenuous activities that they have to balance with household chores before and after school.
Post published in: News