file pic
Peter Chawapiwa
19 March 2017, GUTU – Local schools have been urged to establish projects that can fulfill the demands of their communities as a way to self-sufficiency instead of complaining about lack of resources all the time.
Addressing school heads in Gutu last week, Gutu Business Development Association (GBDA) chairperson, Isaiah Ngwaru, said schools are economic zones that can implement income-generating projects and produce consumer goods for sale.
“The mindset that parents should provide for the school’s budget has to change. Schools should establish projects that generate income. These can be in the form of irrigation projects to sustain the major economic drivers of that community.
“They could also be in the form of shops with groceries, cement, seed, fertilisers or other items that are on demand in the community. Some projects can even produce commodities that can earn the school valuable income on the export market,” Ngwaru said.
Over a long period, he said, he had observed that parents raised school fees for their children mainly through farming but in the face of continuous unfriendly weather patterns, that ability was gradually diminishing.
“When parents fail to pay, the school headmaster has no choice but to rely on the meagre resources that are available. Droughts bring problems in our region hence the need for irrigation projects. As GBDA, we will assist with free advice to all school headmasters who wish to embark on projects.
“This will help to equip school children with sound entrepreneurship skills and open new avenues of economic growth,” Ngwaru said.local
