The Sunday News
Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
THE Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Cde Obedingwa Mguni, has donated $20 000 to Valukhalo Secondary School in Mangwe District to help towards construction of two classroom blocks.
The school has one classroom block forcing some of the pupils to learn from a community hall. Cde Mguni who is also the National House of Assembly Member for Mangwe District handed over the money to the school on Friday.
In an interview Mguni said there was a need to expose rural pupils to proper learning conditions in order to eradicate the cycle of poverty.
“It would be better if pupils were dropping out of school as a result of their own mischief but in actual fact a number of pupils are leaving school because of the absence of learning facilities. This is one aspect that we have to address as stakeholders. If children do not get education then communities will produce uneducated youths and the cycle of poverty will never end,” he said.
Cde Mguni said parents were struggling to mobilise resources to build the school because of drought. He said the money would go towards buying material to build two classroom blocks as well as securing learning resources and furniture for the pupils.
Cde Mguni said the donation was part of efforts to ensure that the district of Mangwe area produce good pass rates.
The school recently received 100 bags of cement and stationery worth P140 000 from the General Foundation Apostolic Church in Christ. The school was officially opened in January 2014 with an enrolment of 200 pupils.
Last year the enrolment rose to about 300 pupils with Form 1 up to Form 3 classes. This year the school has an enrolment of about 400 pupils as it has introduced a Form 4 class.
The school has served as a source of hope for children in Empandeni area as the place did not have a secondary school which resulted in a high rate of Grade 7 school drop outs. A community hall in the area was turned into a school following a demand for a secondary school.
