By Dumisani Ndlovu
As part of its efforts to reduce the distance that learners walk to officially registered examination centres, the government of Zimbabwe has given a greenlight to more than 250 satellite schools to be registered as examination centers by April this year, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo said this on Wednesday while answering a question from Matabeleland North Proportional Representation legislator Mail Nkomo during the question and answer session of the National Assembly.
In Zimbabwe satellite schools are educational establishments predominantly found in formerly white-owned commercial farming areas where indigenous black families were resettled under the agararian reforms that the government implemented in 2000 and beyond to address the colonial legacy of a racially skewed agricultural land ownership.
Students from such establishments face challenges when it comes to writing examinations as they have to travel long distances to registered centers, and the move by the government will reduce that burden.
Moyo said his Ministry would be disbursing US$5 000 to each of the satellite schools before the end of this term for constructing the necessary infrastructure to ensure the examination rooms will be secure.
“It is true that our satellite schools are some of the schools where there is zero percent pass rate,” he said.
“They write their examinations in other schools. So, what the Government is doing for these schools to get registration certificates is that we have a list of 259 schools and we are looking forward that these schools are now close to being registered.”
He said satellite and rural schools are disadvantaged compared to those in urban areas and the government will be intensifying efforts to avail them with information communication technology for online learning through introducing servers at Administration Blocks that will span a radius of 100 to 200 meters.
Shortages of learning materials and ICT infrastructure has resulted in most satellite and some rural schools experiencing several years of zero percent pass rates.
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