Ndangababi School: Another Show Of A Forgotten Education Sector

School's dilapidated state was caused by a heavy wind storm two years ago and has remained in that state to date. Image by Lethokuhle Nkomo | The Citizen Bulletin

BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | APR 15, 2021

A school whose dilapidation has resulted from natural phenomena remains unattended to two years on; the community is demanding action now.

HWANGE (The Citizen Bulletin) — The state of Ndangababi Primary School in Cross Dete reflects many rural schools in Hwange District. A lack of furniture and dilapidated classroom blocks are commonplace.

Attending lessons at Ndangababi, in particular, is like sitting on a time bomb that may explode anytime. The classroom walls with huge cracks appear like they could give in anytime. The trusses which support the asbestos roof are a scary sight.  

Grade one learners sit on top of desks because of a shortage of chairs, while some learners sit on the dusty, cracked floor when it is time for writing.

Communities around Dete blame the Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC) for negligence, ignorance and not using the Communal Areas Management Fund in revitalising the school.

The Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) fund is a Zimbabwean community-based natural resource management program meant to benefit the communities.

“The school can be in a better position if HRDC puts more effort in renovating it using the CAMPFIRE fund.”
Evangelist Munsaka, a businessman in Cross Dete

The project aims to empower communities that live near communally owned wildlife areas by encouraging tourism to the region and providing funds for wildlife ecology research.

It enables hunters to pay an extensive fee to kill one large game animal, most often an elephant. The project’s idea is that while some individuals hunt wild animals, their longevity would be secured by the funds received from a trophy hunter. The hunted meat and profits would be given to the local communities to develop schools, clinics, and wildlife research facilities.

“Our area is prone to elephants, lions and other various wildlife. Trophy hunters usually operate in these areas, meaning money from these trophy hunts can renovate the schools in this area. Still, to my surprise, nothing is being said about such funds regarding community development projects,” says Munsaka.

Ndangababi Primary School is one of the biggest schools under the Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC). Its enrolment is for approximately 700 learners for both boys and girls.

The schools’ dilapidated state was caused by a heavy wind storm that happened two years ago, leaving some of the classrooms with no roof, broken windows and some walls falling off. It has been in that state for a while as no major renovations have been done.

Samukeliso Dube, a parent with learners at the school, says the school’s state shows that responsible authorities Hwange Rural District Council don't care about the learners’ situation at Ndangababi.

“Honestly, the school was blown off two years ago, and still little has been done to make sure that the learners are learning in a safer environment. As you can see, everything is in shambles here! This shows that the school is not that important to the responsible authorities as it is to the community,” she says.

“As it is, the school has no proper furniture, now with COVID-19 pandemic; children are just squashed in these cracked classrooms.”
Samukeliso Dube, a parent

“As parents with learners of the school, we are calling for CAMPFIRE funds to help in resuscitating the school. We know there is money set aside from CAMPFIRE funds to develop our communities,” she says.

The local Councilor Cosmas Mwakiposa says the school’s state has impacted the learners as the environment is no longer conducive.

“The environment is not conducive for the learners, the school has been in this state for a long time now, and it's disheartening,” says the Councilor.

He says the council has donated a total of 40 000 bricks, but they are not enough as there is a need for a massive renovation of the school.

Hwange Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer Phindile Ncube says he is aware of the state of the Ndangababi Primary School.

“Yes, the school was destroyed by the wind storm a while ago, but we are trying to refurbish the school now that schools have opened,” he says.

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On the issue of CAMPFIRE Funds, Ncube says the community needs to know that resources harvested by CAMPFIRE funds differ in every community.

“Of course, the community decides on how they want to use the funds from CAMPFIRE, but it then depends on the communities. Some communities are rich with wildlife while some communities are not rich like Cross Dete,” says Ncube.

Ncube, however, assured the community in Cross Dete that the council will make sure that Ndangababi will be renovated to its old glory despite the financial constraints they are facing.

Although the direct economic benefits are small, the CAMPFIRE project was the first community-based wildlife conservation project to approach wildlife as a renewable, profitable resource. It serves as a model for some other indigenous conservation projects in Africa.

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