Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe has now reduced the primary and secondary schools deficit in the country by about 1 000, Primary and Secondary Schools Minister, Torerai Moyo has said.
Three years ago, the schools’ deficit was about 3 000, leading to the emergency of illegal learning institutions, a challenge for which the government adopted a multi-sectoral approach to build new schools across the country.
Fielding questions from the media during a Cabinet highlights briefing on Tuesday, Moyo said the massive projects underway in the education sector in the country had significantly dented the deficit and in turn positively impacted on learners enrolment.
He said the projects, which include the construction of new schools and refurbishment of classroom blocks, are meant to ensure the provision of quality, equitable, relevant and inclusive education in the country.
“We are also converting classrooms into laboratories and building new laboratories as we attempt to ensure that we provide the much needed STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
“The impact is prodigious, we are anticipating that before the end of the year, the number of schools that we intend to construct for 2025 is not less than 150 new schools and not less than 300 new classroom blocks. And the impact is that the deficit will be less than 2000,” Moyo said.
“As you are aware, three years ago we had a deficit of 3 000 schools, now we have a deficit of around 2 300 new schools.”
As new schools are being built, he said his ministry is also reducing the travelling distances that learners walk or travel to school to bring it in line with the international conventions which state that learners should not walk distances of up to 5km.
“I’m very happy with the progress that we are making in meeting our target for the first 100 days. And in terms of teacher pupil ratio, we anticipate that with the development of new schools, we are also going to recruit new teachers that will impact positively in terms of reducing the teacher pupil ratio to acceptable levels,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a Ministry report on the first 100-day cycle of 2025, Moyo said 57 schools have been registered across the country while construction of a classroom block at E.D. Mnangagwa Secondary School in Mutoko district, Mashonaland East province is 80 percent complete and that of the Gideons Secondary in Gutu, Masvingo, is 82 percent complete.
Construction of a classroom block at Tamuka B Satellite in Bindura, Mashonaland Central has been completed, as has that of a 10 classroom double-storey block including a computer laboratory at Harare High School in Mbare.
Work on the double-storey block and computer laboratory at Gangarahwe Primary School in Hurungwe, Mashonaland West is ongoing while that of a two-storey classroom block at Karoi Junior School in Hurungwe district, Mashonaland West is nearing completion.
Other works are underway at Runyararo Adventist and Hozvi Primary ECD Centre in Bikita, both in Masvingo, Sinoia Primary in Makonde district, Mashonaland West, Coban Global Primary in Gweru district, Midlands and Mambodzvuku Secondary in Murehwa district, Mashonaland East.
Works are also in progress at Seke 2 High in Chitungwiza, Harare, Rusitu High in Chimanimani district, Manicaland and St Pauls High in Gokwe South district, Midlands.
“Construction works on sustainable and affordable boarding facilities are also nearing completion at the following schools: Progress College in Gweru, Midlands, Gumbonzvanda and St Mary’s in Hwedza, Mashonaland East, Tafira High in Murombedzi, Mashonaland West, Howard Secondary in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central, Kadhanya Secondary and Donsa Secondary in Kwekwe, Midlands.
New Ziana
