Pass rate: Low-cost boarding facilities for Umzingwane
COLLABORATION between the Government and its partners will see the construction of low-cost boarding facilities at Sihlengeni High and Bayethe Secondary Schools in Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South.
This is part of efforts to bridge the learning infrastructure gap and reduce the distance travelled by learners to school.
The sustainable and affordable boarding facilities model has brought relief to the community whose children used to walk nearly 20km to school.
The district population has to be fairly spread out because of the climate, so densities are fairly low which in turn means schools are widely spaced, so many children have to walk long distances. For many boarding is the only realistic option, but the places have to be there and the costs have to be affordable by the families.
The project is supported under by the Global Fund through the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) with the National Aids Council and Plan International as implementing partners.
The intervention falls under the Determined and Resilient Empowered Aids Free Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) modified programme.
Each boarding facility accommodates 32 girls and learners who started using the infrastructure in January last year.
A Form 4 learner at Sihlengeni High School, Lisa Mpofu, said staying within the boarding facility has come as a huge relief for her as she can now fully concentrate on her studies for improved performance.
“I stay at Emagodini area, which is about 12km away. I used to wake up at 4am and do some household chores first in order to assist my granny.
“I would leave home for school at 5am and then walk to school. I used to arrive late at school most of the time and I would miss out on some lessons, which affected my performance.
“I struggled to concentrate in class because at times I would be feeling sleepy. I would arrive home at night and then do some chores.
“This routine left me with little time to read. Ever since I moved to the boarding facility my performance at school has greatly improved,” said Lisa.