Government is to set up 20 schools of excellence

Chronicle
Chronicle reporter
29 March 2010

The government has selected 20 schools which will be rehabilitated and turned into centres of excellence in an effort to improve the country’s education standards, a Cabinet Minister said.

The schools were drawn from all the country’s 10 provinces under a programme which it is hoped may be funded by the World Bank.

Addressing guests during the launch of Milton High School Centenary Celebrations on Friday, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said the selected schools were identified as a result of widespread consultations he has had in assessing government schools’ infrastructure in the last year.

He said the establishment of the centres of excellence had already been agreed on by the Cabinet, adding that the project was mostly meant to help nurture talented but disadvantaged children.

“After realising the falling standards in government schools, we devised a policy to identify talented disadvantaged children and to channel them into academic and sporting institutions so that they realise their full potential,” said Minister Coltart.

“The enrolment of every school will comprise 40% of academically, athletically and artistically talented, but underprivileged, pupils who will be chosen through a rigorous exercise that will be conducted by an independent body. The remaining 60% will be filled by other pupils, “ he said.

“A new grading system which will culminate in the creation of a special grade in headmaster and teacher grading will be used in the selection of the staff at the centres so that the pupils will be taught and trained by highly professional, proficient and experienced mentors in all fields.

“When the inclusive government took office we were faced with a number of challenges, one of them being the deteriorating education system and in light of this, we approached a number of institutions, one of them being the World Bank, with the request that they assist in the funding of centres of excellence as a means of resuscitating the nation’s education system.

“My ministry is still waiting funding approval which is needed to see the total rehabilitation of the infrastructure at the selected schools. The major areas that need to be targeted include the rehabilitation of buildings, hostels, science laboratories, libraries and sporting fields.”

He said if the funds are released soon enough the first enrolment would be next year. “We have a six-year programme of action and the first enrolment target is the first term of next year,” he said.

Among the schools that were selected include Milton Boys’ and Eveline Girls’ High in Bulawayo, Plumtree and JZ Moyo High Schools in Matabeleland South and Fatima and Binga High Schools in Matabeleland North.

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