By Staff Reporter
Learners at Bonacodd Primary School, a few kilometres from Redcliff are forced to learn under dire conditions, with some standing in class due to a severe shortage of furniture, as the rural school grapples with deepening infrastructure challenges.
School Development Committee chairperson Trust Mupakaviri said the school, which has 203 pupils and six teachers, is struggling to provide basic learning facilities due to limited financial resources and low fee payments.
“We are failing to buy furniture and other pupils are learning whilst standing. The money being paid by parents is too small and most of them are failing to pay the US$20 termly fees,” said Mupakaviri.
The school is currently operating from a dilapidated former farmhouse, once owned by a white commercial farmer before Zimbabwe’s land reform programme. The structure, now repurposed as a learning facility, has crumbling walls and a roof on the verge of collapse, raising serious safety concerns.
In an effort to address the crisis, the school began constructing a new classroom block in October last year, but progress has stalled due to financial constraints.
“We have a new block that we are building but we are facing challenges — we cannot roof it. We need roofing materials and furniture which might cost us around US$10 000,” Mupakaviri said.
Plans to construct four classroom blocks have since been scaled down, while additional critical infrastructure such as teachers’ accommodation and ablution facilities remains incomplete.
The situation is particularly dire for Early Childhood Development (ECD) learners, who are being taught in a makeshift structure.
“Our ECD learners are learning in a shanty makeshift classroom we made so that they are shielded from the rain and sun,” he added.
The lack of proper infrastructure has also cost the school its status as a Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) centre, forcing Grade Seven pupils to travel long distances to sit for their final examinations.
“Our children, when they sit for Grade Seven exams, have to go to Newlands Primary School which is about 10 to 15 kilometres away. If they go, they have to stay there the whole week. We were a Zimsec centre but that was withdrawn after authorities said the current building is not secure and has no safe to store exam papers,” said Mupakaviri.
Beyond primary education, learners face further challenges accessing secondary schooling, with the nearest option located far from the community. The high tuition fees are also a high hindrance forcing many pupils to drop out.
“After primary, some of our children endure a long walk to Nkululeko for secondary education which is about 15 kilometres from here,” he said.
Mupakaviri appealed for assistance from government, donors and well-wishers to help complete the school’s infrastructure and improve learning conditions.
