By Moregiven Sithole in Chipinge
Platform for Youth Development (PYD)’s vision to engage
young people in community development received a big boost when its members
contested and some managed to win in the recently held elections to choose the
School Development Committee (SDC) in Chipinge district.
Two PYD members who managed to win the influential position
in the running of public schools are Richard Mtetwa and Forget Hlomani from
Muumbe and Makoho village respectively.A substantial number of those forwarded
by PYD managed to become members of the influential School Development
Committees.
Richard Mtetwa is now the new Chairperson of Muumbe Primary
School while Forget Hlomani was also elected to lead the SDC for Makoho Primary
School.
Newly elected Hlomani said he will use the power vested in
him to unite all responsible stakeholders for the benefit improving the school
infrastructure and teacher motivation.
“Leadership is a call to serve, I will take my leadership as
an opportunity to ensure that all school stakeholders at Makoho Primary School
are motivated to work together. I dedicate my leadership to serving the Makoho community’’,
Hlomani said.
Makoho primary school was established in 1917 and has an
enrolment of 402 children. Despite the school being one of the oldest in
Chipinge, there are only two blocks at the school with eight teachers.The
school is close to the border of Mozambique and has been opening and closing
due to the challenges linked to the liberation struggle.
On his part Mr Mtetwa lauded those who voted for him saying
his election was a clear indication of the society’s new found confidence in
young leaders.
“I have been elected on merit and will do everything in my
capacity to prove that young people have vision and energy to transform
communities’’, Mtetwa said.
Muumbe primary school was established in 1923.The school has
415 pupils and 13 teachers. Just like Makoho, the school is found close to the
border with Mozambique. There is poor road network, poor school infrastructure,
high school dropout and very little appreciation by local community on the
benefit of education.
PYD is a non-partisan and non discriminatory organization that was
formed to act as a platform, network and bridge for the youth in all spheres of
life to articulate issues affecting them as youth and particularly issues
relating to sustainable development. The organization encouraged its members to
partake in the AGM deliberations with the view to contest for positions since
the organization believes that any
meaningful development must involve young people. This decision was reached at
after the realization that most schools were missing the energies of young people.
School leadership has thus been exposed to the politics of political parties,
making the winners partisan and lacking merit.
The PYD Director and team
leader Mr. Claris Madhuku promised that the organization will continue to have
a positive impact in communities by encouraging young people to participate in
all spaces that seeks to influence community development
“Out of the schools where PYD has been involved, there has
been a very encouraging active collaboration between the elderly and the youth.
Through our advocacy young people are increasingly becoming involved in
decision making and community action” Madhuku said
“PYD will continue to create empowering platforms and spaces
for young people to actively participate, be it
at the traditional courts, dip tank committees, School Development
Committees, Council and parliamentary elections etc” he reiterated.
The schools AGMs were held in fulfillment of the Ministry of
Primary and Secondary Education’s statute that requires the parents and school
staff to meet and deliberate on how the schools should be run. The SDCs are
derived from the Education Act chapter 25.04 as read with the various statutory
instruments.
SDCs remain the backbone of schools. The idea of SDCS among
others is for both school administration and parents to have a say on how much
they would pay towards school development. Government sets the standard school
fees, while the schools in collaboration with parents set the levies. It is at
these AGMs where elections are also held for the renewal of the committee
responsible for running these schools.
