Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango presents a cheque to Mwenezi High School head Cuthbert Chuma.
Itai Muzondo in Mwenenzi
MWENEZI – The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango last week presented Mwenezi Government High School with the 2016 Permanent Secretary’s Merit Award, the second time the school has won the prestigious accolade.
Mwenezi Government High School first won the award way back in 1985 and it has been a protracted period of hard work which finally resulted in the award returning to the school after more than 30 years.
The award earned the school some government funding to the tune of US$10 000 for the establishment of an ‘e-classroom’ which will be equipped with 45 laptops, a mounted projector as well as an interactive whiteboard.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Utete-Masango challenged all schools to join the race for the award by first creating a conducive learning environment for children in their respective spaces.
“As secretary, it is my expectation that every school is part of this noble race. This is a race we must be working for on a daily basis so that in the end, though we may have one winner, all the schools and all the learners would have won too.
“Every school has a duty to provide, without fail, conducive teaching and learning environments for quality learning outcomes,” Dr Utete-Masango said.
She also said she was happy with how pupils at Mwenezi Government High School had shown an impressive understanding of the new curriculum.
“I am happy with engagements I take with pupils every time I visit schools. Here, I have talked to many students from different classes and they have shown great understanding of the new curriculum. I am confident they will rightly use skills acquired through such learning to sustain themselves,” she said.
Mwenezi Government High School headmaster Cuthbert Chuma said the award was a great milestone in the history of the school.
“The year will go down in history as momentous for Mwenezi Governmet High School as the school was bestowed with the coveted and prestigious Secretary’s Merit Award. The award is a great honour which every school in Zimbabwe aspires to attain but many in their life time may not be able to attain the elusive dream of such recognition.
“The award is a result of teamwork by school stakeholders. Staff and students have worked hard in various disciplines and departments. The School Development Committee (SDC) has done tremendous work at the school. Currently we have a landscaping programme we launched to re-brand the school and it is going on well through the support of these stakeholders,” Chuma said.
In his remarks, Mwenezi High SDC chairperson Pinias Shoko thanked the ministry for honouring the school’s efforts.
“There is no better way of being appreciated than being honoured for the work you are doing for development. I would like to say thank you to our parent ministry for recognising our combined efforts to improve education in Mwenezi,” Shoko said.education,topnews
