20 pupils share one desk in Mat North: Coltart

EDUCATION Minister David Coltart has warned that students from Matabeleland North are being crowded out of university opportunities because of a breakdown in education infrastructure in the province. On average, 20 pupils share a single desk in the province, while 17 share a bench. Presenting shock statistics, Coltart said of the 175,000 pupils who sat O’ Level exams in the province last year, just 137 had sat Maths and Science exams – which dramatically lengthened the odds of pupils from the area making it to university. “These figures are unacceptable and they should be improved,” Coltart said, speaking at the commissioning of a new classroom block at Somgolo Primary School in Lupane which was financed by the Czech Republic. Matabeleland North, Coltart said, only had 26 A’ Level schools – far too few too absorb the O’ Level students. He added: “The level of poverty in this province is alarming. About 40 percent of children learn under trees because of a shortage of classrooms. “This region has been through difficult times over a protracted period of time and this had adversely affected infrastructure development.  “There is an urgent need to allocate more resources to the education sector which is the backbone of the economy. Countries with strong economies have a strong education system.” Not only were poorly-equipped schools unlikely to attract specialist teachers for Science and Maths, Coltart said, but they also produced a generation of drop-outs. The Matabeleland North deputy provincial education director Matthias Luphahla said the province was being exploited for timber by large companies who invested little in local communities. “Something should be done to improve the furniture shortage in order to create a friendly learning environment for our children,” he said. Meanwhile, the Transport and Infrastructure Development Ministry donated 76 benches, 38 desks and 10 chairs to Mbuhulu Primary School and a consignment of textbooks for major subjects to Dlamini High School in the same province. The ministry also pledged to repair the solar energy system at the two schools to provide power especially for computers that were donated by President Robert Mugabe