Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Zimbabwe Committed to Improving Education System: President Mugabe
President Mugabe and First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe flanked by Bona and Simba Chikore attend the children’s party at the City Sports Centre in Harare yesterday. — (Picture by Tawanda Mudimu)

Farirai Machivenyika, Harare Bureau
Zimbabwe Chronicle

President Mugabe yesterday said Government was committed to improving the country’s education system and has adopted various initiatives towards that goal.

The President, who is famed for making Zimbabwe one of the top two most literate nations in Africa, was speaking at the 37th Independence Anniversary Children’s Party hosted by the First Family at the City Sports Centre yesterday.

The event was attended by thousands of children drawn from the country’s 10 provinces.

“We continue as you know, to do everything possible to ensure that your education remains Government’s top priority.

“At the beginning of 2017, we introduced an updated competence and skills driven curriculum that should provide every learner with an opportunity to develop their potential. This potential that exists in every learner requires a curriculum that can develop and map it to the maximum extent possible,” President Mugabe said.

He added that the new curriculum ensures a smooth transition from school to work.

“Our goal is to ensure that the updated curriculum supports and sustains the transition from school to the world of work through serious study of a wide variety of subjects that include the sciences, technology and mathematics.

“We must, as we do this, appreciate the profound turn towards innovation and creativity in our nation,” President Mugabe said.

The President added that since May 2016 they had initiated a school feeding programme for infants in all schools to improve learners’ health and further improved the retention of learners in school.

“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has commenced the Zimbabwe Schools’ Water and Agriculture Project that will see secondary schools, in all the eight provinces, commence agricultural study work, programming boreholes drilling through drip irrigation, fish farming and the benefit of solar power system. To date boreholes have been drilled in schools and it is planned that May 2017, a total of 100 boreholes will be drilled every month.

“The project will move to the primary school sector once all 2 500 secondary schools in the country have been accounted for. The same project is expected to contribute significantly to the sustenance of the school feeding programme and competence-based learning by all of you,” President Mugabe said.

President Mugabe urged children to fully utilise the land and all other resources the country is endowed with.

“You must remember that we took our land from our colonisers. Land is like all our country’s resources, our natural God-given resource. You are the inheritors of it and therefore must take pride in making our land productive. Equally so, you must be prepared to cultivate active interest in exploiting all other resources our country is endowed with,” he said.

President Mugabe called on children to work hard at school and thanked teachers for their efforts in educating the nation.

“I wish you all success in your education, behave well in school and avoid bad habits and study hard,” he said.

“God bless you all, may God bless your teachers. I know they have worked very hard to put this up. They work hard to bring you up. I want to thank them on behalf of your parents,” President Mugabe said.

The celebrations were held under the theme, “Children’s Party; Zimbabwe @37: Embracing ease of doing business for socio-economic development.”

No comments: