Marondera (New Ziana) – A new secondary school has been built in ward 1 of Marondera rural, easing the plight of students who walked long distances of over 15 kilometres to the nearest school.

Grand Chase Secondary School will enrol its first intakes when schools re-open next week on Monday, and its coming on board will also help reduce student-teacher ratios at high schools in the area.

Previously, high school students from Grand Chase area, where the new school is located, attended Helm Secondary School, which is more than 15 kilometres away.

Local councillor, Forbes Chirara said the new school will not only ease hot-sitting at Helm Secondary School, but also protect girls from sexual abuse on their way to and from school as they would now be traveling shorter distances.

He said a lot of girls fell prey to sexual predators on the long trips to school, and dropped out after falling pregnant.

“As a representative of people from the Ward in council, I advocated for the construction of Grand Chase Secondary School which is set to open its doors to pupils this term,” he said.

“Pupils would travel for long distances to the nearest secondary school which, in this case, is Helm. That obviously had a negative impact on the learners’ performances in class.

“Most young girls would be forced to drop out of school once they completed their primary education. They would then be forced either into early marriages or work in nearby farms while those who continued with their education would risk being abused along the way,” Chirara said.

For now, the school will enrol 300 students.

New Ziana