Story by Gay Matambo
QUALITY education infrastructure is critical to sustainable development, providing the foundation for unlocking youth potential and bridging the digital divide.
This was highlighted during the recent commissioning of education infrastructure projects by Mutare City Council at Hobhouse and Chikanga 1 primary schools.
The projects include two classroom blocks at Hobhouse Primary School and a computer laboratory at Chikanga 1 Primary School. They are expected to ease overcrowding, reduce hot seating and improve digital literacy in two of Mutare’s largest high-density suburbs.
Chikanga 1 Primary School School Development Committee Chairperson, Mrs Mercy Mugaviri welcomed the development.
“As the SDC, we are absolutely overjoyed to see these projects finally coming to fruition. For a long time, our schools have faced severe pressure due to growing student numbers, forcing us into hot seating schedules and limiting our ability to offer computer classes,” she said.
Mutare Deputy Mayor, Councillor John Nyamhoka said the projects demonstrate how council revenues and devolution funds are being invested in improving service delivery.
“We are actively proving that local authority revenues and devolution allocations are being directly channelled back into building a modern, competitive and highly functional city,” he said.
The infrastructure projects support the Second Republic’s Heritage-Based Education framework, which promotes modern learning environments and digital inclusion as key drivers of industrialisation and modernisation.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Professor Fanuel Tagwira said quality learning facilities are essential to developing a knowledge-based economy.
“We cannot build a knowledge-driven economy or produce innovators without early exposure to proper science, technology and comfortable learning spaces. What Mutare City Council has done here is build the foundation upon which the Second Republic’s industrialisation and modernisation agenda rests,” he said.
Manicaland Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza commended the local authority for prioritising education infrastructure.
“True devolution begins by bringing fundamental rights like the right to quality primary education to the doorstep of our communities. This local authority has demonstrated remarkable alignment with the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 by prioritising standard classroom and ICT structures over temporary setups,” he said.
The commissioning coincided with the handover of a new fleet of operational service vehicles procured by Mutare City Council as part of its capital development programme under the National Devolution Framework.
