Denford Masiya
Anesushe Mamhute
CHIREDZI – Due to the imbalances in the distribution of teachers countrywide, with reports that not even one native speaker of Xangani was among the 2 300 teachers recently deployed by the government, calls have been made for Xangani people to take education seriously.
Representing Chiredzi East MP Denford Masiya, Jerry Masiya, who was invited to a ward development committee at Headman Chilonga’s homestead last week, said local people must attach great value to education so as to address recurrent social imbalances.
Some people here are accusing the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for failing to deploy Xangani-speaking teachers to teach the language in Chiredzi.
Chilonga is among a few satellite areas that missionary educators totally ignored when they set up schools to educate the racially-segregated African children across the province starting mainly in the 1920s.
The current government has also totally failed to develop the area over the past 37 years after independence in 1980, and children there are walking up to 30 km daily to get to the nearest schools.
“It’s a pity that a father owns 100 cattle but fails to pay a $20 fee per term for his child. We want Xangani headmasters and teachers in our community but that is only achievable if we educate our own children,” said Masiya
“Our province is the best in terms of quality education but this district is the worst, so I call for reformation,” he added.
Village head John Mashayile echoed Masiya’s sentiments, emphasising the importance of education among Xangani-speaking people as a way of addressing poverty and underdevelopment.
“If our son wants to marry, we support him by any means to pay lobola in full but we then fail to support our children to access school. That should be revised,” said Mashayile.local
