Stefanus Nambara
NKURENKURU – Effective deliverance of quality education is being undermined at Nkurenkuru Combined School, as learners sit on the floor throughout lessons, because they do not have chairs, neither desks to write on.
The school received a new block of four classrooms but it has not yet been furnished.
Grade 10 learners who use these classrooms are now forced to write on their laps, on the floor or while standing – the pain and struggle they endure during lessons.
“It’s impeding the teaching and learning process,” the school principal, Frans Ngoma, fumed.
This unfavourable situation has forced some learners to carry their own chairs from home.
The school is also hit by insufficient classrooms to accommodate the escalating population of learners this academic year, despite having received four new classrooms.
When this reporter visited the school, its learner population was already at 1 310 and still counting, as admission is still ongoing until 4 February 2020.
The situation has also forced some learners to be taught under a tree. “Social science learners for grade eleven are being taught outside. There is nowhere to put these learners,” said Ngoma.
The high enrolment of learners has also placed work overload on teachers, as the school is understaffed. The principal is now appealing to the regional directorate of education to look into their challenges as a matter of urgency.
“We are talking about quality education; how can we accomplish it [quality education] if we have such challenges at our school?” he rhetorically questioned.
When contacted for comment, regional education director Teopolina Hamutumua said, “Last year, we have not received any budget provision to buy furniture but as a region, we have done our best to repair those that we could repair.”
She said the furniture has been distributed to schools, including Nkurenkuru Combined School, but could unfortunately not cater for every learner.