PYD MEMBERS WIN SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT ELECTIONS IN CHIPINGE

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.