Nkashe High School Development Committee (SDC) has expressed concern over the serious water crisis besetting the institution.
PERPETUAL PHIRI OWN CORRESPONDENT
Nkashe is located in the heart of Matshetshe area in Gwanda and is the only secondary school in Ward 1 catering for seven primary schools.
Speaking at an annual prize giving ceremony at Nkashe on Thursday, the SDC chairperson Daniel Dube said water shortages had greatly affected the school, especially teachers, and nothing had been done to alleviate the situation.
“The well we have at the school has already dried up, so teachers struggle to get water as they have to walk about 3,5 km to reach the nearest water point.
We also need to build classrooms and teachers’ cottages, but due to the water problem we are facing, it is difficult,” he said.
Dube said that school also wants to build a weather station, acquire science equipment and build classroom blocks and low-cost boarding rooms.
“Some students walk about 7-15km coming to school on hungry stomachs and this makes them lose focus on their studies as they get to school tired.
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So if we could have low-cost boarding rooms, this would make life easy for these children and enable them to perform better,” he said.
Dube revealed that the school lacks funds as levies were not paid on time.
The school has an incomplete library and the 20 teachers are sharing seven available houses.
Gwanda North MP Madodana Sibanda promised to work together with the ward councillor Stanford Nkala to help the hungry children by providing food and helping pay their school fees.
Chief Masuku urged the MP to fulfil his promise to help the children and the community at large.
“We are aware of the water crisis in this area and will attend to the issue, but I also encourage you as the community to pray for rains,” the chief said.
Administrator of the Gwanda Community Share Ownership Trust Costa Nkala urged parents to motivate their children, support them, put them first, pay their fees on time and never abuse them because they were tomorrow’s leaders.
The school’s outgoing headmaster Marvelous Moyo said they managed to electrify teachers’ cottages, but the school still lacked furniture over and above the 80 chairs and 80 desks as well a 20 padded teachers’ chairs they bought.
“We have also managed to network with some of our former students and they have helped a lot.
We have received a computer and printer, donations of school kits and 1 000 texts books covering different subjects, from former students,” Moyo said.
