The Sunday News
Raisedon Baya Arts Focus
PRIMARY schools seem more serious about arts and culture than other levels of education in Zimbabwe. I am yet to see the kind of excitement I have seen on primary school pupils and their teachers during arts and culture events among secondary and higher learning institutions. Their excitement is almost infectious. I must also say Jikinya has created a culture of serious participation among primary schools. National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) should be commended on their effort in preserving Zimbabwean culture through the arts. Besides Jikinya the choral competition also seems to be growing in leaps and bounds.
This year’s Jikinya and choral provincial finals were held at MacDonald Hall and Amphitheatre respectively. Jikinya was held at Macdonald Hall in Mzilikazi suburb.
The seriousness of schools was evidenced by their investment in costumes and drums. All participating schools were appropriately costumed including the teachers too.
Most, especially lady teachers were clad beautifully in African attire of different designs. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Jikinya events have given teachers something to dress up for, and for some of us something to smile about.
The only bad patch to this year’s Jikinya was the poor condition of the venue in Mzilikazi. MacDonald Hall used to be the best hall in the townships. But not anymore. Now the roof leaks like a sieve. The stage curtains are gone. Perhaps stolen. Half the lights are no longer working. The stage itself looks broken, almost dangerous to perform on. MacDonald Hall now stands as a sad symbol of good things gone terribly bad in this country. Battered, tired, and without its old shiny sparkle, the hall now symbolises all recreational facilities in the city that have all but crumbled.
Yet away from the prying eyes of the general public, hidden right in the middle of Centenary Park, the choral music competition looked fresh and alive. The Amphitheatre is still in super condition. A big contrast to venues in the townships. The décor was superb and complemented the beautifully dressed choirs that walked and sang on the stage. There was evidence, once more, of how serious primary schools have become about arts and culture. The costumes were neat and made all the choirs look very professional. A big thumbs up to school heads and their school development committees for their efforts.
Giving a speech at the choral music competitions, the provincial education director, Mr Dan Moyo, said “music has been used as a tool of communication in different ceremonies hence it is increasingly used in work, personal and social activities like graduations, speech and prize giving days, wedding and parades. Music plays a pivotal role in human life. The history of the nation can be traced through music.”
What was more exciting about the director’s speech was the affirmation that arts and culture were critical to education and should be institutionalised. In his speech he affirmed that “every learner should participate in at least two performing and two visual arts programmes a year.” Progressive thinking indeed. When arts and culture were removed from the Ministry of Education there were serious fears that the decision would stall arts and culture development in schools. However, from what we saw and what the director said it’s still safe to say arts and culture in schools is moving in the right direction.
Mbizo Primary School was crowned the provincial winners of Jikinya and Coghlan Primary walked away with the sole ticket to represent Bulawayo at the national finals in Harare on the 28th of November 2014. We sincerely wish both schools the best in Harare next week. My advice to teachers is to let the children enjoy every moment.
Competitions are not always about winning the best prize. Sometimes just participating can be enriching in itself.
