Story by Tafara Chikumira
The Second Republic’s rural electrification exercise is on course, with Sibangani Secondary School in Silobela being the latest to benefit from the programme as government seeks to bridge the rural-urban divide in line with its inclusive development thrust.
Sibangani Secondary school, which is located some 135 kilometers west of the City of Kwekwe has seen school authorities beaming with hope following the electrification of the rural school.
“Things have been difficult at this school. We now have the heritage based learning which requires ICTs and this needs electricity. The electrification of the school will also help us to execute our feeding programmes at ease. I can assure you that our pass rate is going to improve. We also used to have an exodus of experienced teachers but with such amenities now in place we hope to attract the best of the best,” said Sibangani Secondary School headmaster, Mr Ndalifa Ndebele.
The community is equally excited by the latest development, which lessens the burden on their children, while presenting them with opportunities to modernise.
“It was difficult for our children to use candles as the source of light for their reading. Our children will now be competing with their peers in town at equal levels as they can use ICT gadgets to research which was not possible without reliable power supply,” said a parent.
“I am indeed grateful to the government for remembering us here in Silobela. We can now learn with hopes high that we will come up with something positive at the end of the day as we now have little excuses to execute the expected tasks,” noted a student.
Government says the thrust to industrialise and modernise rural communities through infrastructure development remains key as it fulfils the objectives of the National Development Strategy 1.
“In the education sector, the era of moving around with satchels full of textbooks is over, as access to information is now readily available through web browsing. The new dispensation is in full support of UN Sustainable Development Goal number four on inclusive quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all, regardless of their geographical location. However, I wish to warn our learners here present today against falling prey to negative effects of social media, which threaten our values of Ubuntu and patriotism by promoting foreign narratives, hate, disunity, and drug and substance abuse,” explained Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, and Devolution Honourable Owen Ncube.
Since the inception of the Second Republic, the Rural Electrification Fund has rolled out numerous electrification projects that have benefited 957 rural institutions in the Midlands Province, with Kwekwe District now having 140 rural institutions electrified.
