The Director for the Tsoro-o-otso San Development Trust, Davy Ndlovu says the decision by the government to construct more schools targeting the San community will help improve literacy levels in the community.
This follows an announcement that Cabinet had approved the construction of a primary and secondary school in the area.
Speaking during a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the Government has started to implement development programs towards improving the lives of the San community.
“Treasury will fund the construction of two primary and secondary schools for the Tjawo, out of the 50 schools which it has undertaken to finance,” said Mutsvangwa.
Ndlovu indicated that in previous years most members of the community would only go up to grade three.
He said following a series of awareness campaigns, the San people started enrolling their children in schools in large numbers
“We then engaged the Government to assist us to build schools. The Government heard our pleas, a Primary was constructed at Mtshina, it was the first primary to enroll the San of which we are very grateful because the enrolment is pleasing,” said Ndlovu.
“There were no secondary schools for the children, they could walk long distances to go to John Landa School which was also initially constructed to target the San. We have had an enrolment of 34 children at the school and finished their Ordinary level and the three of them finished their Advanced level and ended up at Midlands State University (MSU),” he said.
He, however, highlighted that the only challenge experienced by parents is that of failure to raise schools’ fees.
Meanwhile, Minister Mutsvangwa said the other projects identified by the line ministries to improve the livelihoods of the Tjawo communities include goat rearing, market gardening and dam rehabilitation.
She added that the Registrar-General‘s office has issued more than 5 000 national identity documents to the San Community.
Minister Mutsvangwa said to empower the marginalized San community, security services are set to recruit them into their system.
“While the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) have already completed recruitment for the current year, they have undertaken to recruit from the San communities in the forthcoming recruitment cycle,” she said.
“The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) has recently flighted advertisements which they have shared with the Tjawo communities, and a quota has been reserved for them,” said Mutsvangwa.
