Construction of 17 schools countrywide starts
THE Government has begun preparatory work to engage contractors for the construction of 17 schools across the country’s 10 provinces, an official has said.
Construction of the 17 schools is part of the Government’s target to set up an additional 2 056 schools countrywide to meet the growing demands for education. In an interview last week, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango said all the necessary ground work has been done for construction work to start.
“The ground work has been done. Now it’s just a question of contractors going on the ground and start the real work,” she said.
“T h e necessary feasibility studies have been done, reports have been written and approved. So we are on the next stage now which is the engagement of contractors and that will be done soon. Actually, construction work is expected to start anytime soon.” Initially, the Government had targeted to start construction work in June. Dr Utete-Masango could not commit to the time-frame the Government expects the construction of the schools to have been completed. She said off the cuff, she could not give the actual places where the schools will be constructed but indicated that all the provinces will benefit. The 17 schools will be constructed under a $20 million grant from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). A joint venture partnership has also been established for the construction project of the remaining 2 036 schools, with the Government expected to go to tender on the project. The joint venture partnership is being administered by the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ). Construction of additional schools is in line with economic blueprint Zim Asset under the Social Services and Poverty Eradication Cluster. Under the cluster, the Government seeks to improve the quality and achieve universal access to education and training at all levels. Zimbabwe has a deficit of 2 056 schools, 1 252 primary schools, and 804 secondary schools. Shortage of schools has seen some schools, particularly in high-density suburbs, resorting to hot-sitting and sharing infrastructure. In rural and farming areas, satellite schools have been established to deal with the challenge of pupils walking long distances to attend class. The satellite schools are often makeshift without adequate infrastructure resulting in some teachers shunning them.