The Sunday News
Amanda Ncube, Sunday News Reporter
IS this a school or just abandoned buildings?
This is a question most people probably ask themselves when visiting George Silundika Primary School in Nyamandlovu, Umguza District in Matabeleland North.
Even after many appeals, the school, whose status is a far cry from the person it was named after has remained the same, if not worse. George Silundika, a nationalist who played an important role in the fight against the Ian Smith regime became a Cabinet Minister after the attainment of Independence in 1980, but died in 1981 and was declared a National Hero. He was a towering figure in the country’s liberation struggle.
However, the school named after him has five dilapidated buildings used as classrooms to cater for pupils from ECD to Grade Seven. The situation at this primary school is different from the one obtaining at the nearby secondary school, which was also after George Silundika. The secondary school has nice boarding facilities and draws children mainly from Bulawayo and its surroundings.
The buildings at the primary school, showing signs of structural defects, are now posing a danger to the lives of the pupils who have no alternative for better education and learning facilities considering the weather conditions.
The school authorities have been appealing to the Government as well as well-wishers for the development of the school but nothing has been done.
One thing which is for sure to attract the eyes of any visitor to the school are the cracking walls, hanging roofings and even holes inside the so-called classrooms.
The holes and gaps almost resemble potholes that litter open roads.
And this is the infrastructure the pupils have to use as they try to acquire the knowledge to become better people tomorrow.
Recently the school held its prize giving ceremony and had to move to George Silundika High School hall for the event as its own structures could not accommodate visitors.
“We are having our prize giving day at the high school hall because we don’t have enough buildings to host our events there,” said a teacher at the school.
Sunday News managed to talk to some of the parents whose children attend the school. They are not amused.
“The school should be a place where our children must be safe but every day you always think whether they are safe or not.
The rainy season has started and we are worried, very worried because if this place experiences a storm then that will be the end of these buildings as you can see,” said a parent who did not want to be named.
The School Development Committee (SDC) chairperson at George Silundika Primary, Retired Colonel Albert Ncube conceded that the institution was now a danger to the pupils and teachers.
“As the school, parents and Government we have an obligation to ensure the safety of our pupils but at the moment their lives are far from being safe. At any moment the building that they use as the office is also a classroom and it can fall at any time,” said Rtd Col Ncube.
He said the ideal situation will be to close the school although there are no immediate plans on what will happen to the pupils.
Rtd Col Ncube said: “We have considered closing the school and moving our pupils to neighbouring schools but in this case the only nearby school is Nyamandlovu Primary which is 10 kilometres away.”
The councillor for the area who also is called Albert Ncube appealed to the Government, companies and individuals to help the school.
“I cannot talk about classrooms because at this moment there are no classrooms but we have houses that we use as classrooms. The secondary school has allowed us to use two of their blocks but we don’t know when they will change their minds,” said Clr Ncube.
Matabeleland North deputy provincial education director Mrs Beatrice Manjere said they were aware of the situation at George Silundika Primary School and they were in the process of addressing some of the challenges.
“The school was issued a piece of land to the east of where it is situated. That is the place where they can build their classrooms but unfortunately at the moment there are no funds to build but plans are underway to construct the school,” said Mrs Manjere.
Cde Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu, a colleague of Cde Silundika during the armed struggle said he was not aware that the school was facing such a huge problem.
He, however, said considering the person it was named after that shouldn’t be much of problem adding that the school’s SDC might not have done enough to market the school’s predicament to the relevant stakeholders.
“I am not aware that there is such a problem, I wonder if the community has done much to look for funds. There are so many people who would be willing to help them considering the role that Cde George Silundika played during the liberation struggle. I tell you there are a lot of diplomatic missions who will be ready to assist at the mere mention of Cde George Silundika,” said Cde Ndlovu.
Cde Ndlovu said: “I am just from Algeria and I was with people who worked closely with Cde George Silundika in the execution of the liberation struggle, if I was aware I would have asked them to intervene.”
He added that he was more than willing to assist the SDC approach some of the diplomatic missions in Harare towards the cause of the school.
George Silundika Primary School has an enrolment of 170 pupils, from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to Grade Seven, all of whom have to make do with an old, decrepit three-roomed structure, a door-less two roomed makeshift classroom block and a thatched pole and mud hut.
The old building was constructed by students as part of their building lessons, soon after Independence under the Zimbabwe Foundation for Education with Production (Zimfep) programme, which, among other things, aimed to accord liberation war fighters the chance to continue with their education which was interrupted by their participation in the war.
No other structure, save from the pole and mud hut, was ever built at the school and authorities had to convert an old disused shed belonging to George Silundika High School, into a classroom to cater for the school’s swelling enrolment.
