Bittersweet moments for schools as Secretary’s Bell returns

THE pain of most school teachers or administrators to produce good academic results in this day and age in Zimbabwe is not only palpable to the naked eye, but is also felt, in equal measure, by the learner and parent or guardian.

Gone are the days when teachers and headmasters would flaunt and shout themselves hoarse about their schools’ exceptional performance, but now it's just memories on dusty trophy cabinets and virtually empty noticeboards. 

The teaching staff’s morale is badly bruised. Many learners feel eluded – they are only in school because their parents know better – no textbooks and teachers not giving their all except for those who would have paid for “extra lessons”.

Parents, on the other hand, are crushing under demands of the ever increasing cost of living which was put at $1 million as at end of May.

This sad state of affairs is reflected in falling pass rates across the country. Except for the Advanced level learners, Ordinary level has seen a dismal pass rate in the past few years.

The country had an uninspiring 28,96% pass rate for Ordinary level in 2022 although this was 2,62% improvement from the previous year’s 26,34%. Advanced level registered an 88% pass rate compared to 83% a year earlier. A sad situation was reported in Binga where 18 schools recorded zero percent pass rate at O-level.

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However, while many have resigned to the fact that education in the country is in a dormant state, if not comatose, there are some who are still pushing the limits of their imagination to redeem some semblance of life out of the staggering environment.

The headmaster of Highfield 1 High Rewu Imbayarwo, is, nonetheless, an elated and proud man. His happiness comes through a harvest of some of the best results in the country, both from the academic side and from the various projects and developments his school managed to pull when things seemed impossible.

The school has achieved outstanding pass rates at both "O" and "A"-levels. In 2020 alone, being in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, it registered a 74% pass rate for "O"-level and 94% for A-level. The pass rate went down to 65% and 88% in 2021 and rose to 73% and 89% respectively in 2022.

This is just but one of the few encouraging stories though, and it attracted the attention of the education authorities.

Only four schools had done better, Imbayarwo said proudly.

Last week, on Monday, his school received the coveted Secretary’s Bell, also known as the 2020 Secretary’s Merit Award from the ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in recognition of its “resilience” and “academic excellence” during the Covid-19 period.

The award is given annually to primary and secondary schools that would have been adjudged the best in each province. This year, however, it was awarded belatedly for 2020 after it was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The handover ceremony was presided over by the ministry’s permanent secretary Tumisang Thabela.

The citation included recognition “for building resilience which enabled the school to continue offering access to education even during the Covid-19 pandemic period”, among other achievements.

The school has built a fowl run, established a nitrous garden and an orchard. During the Covid-19 era, the school managed to drill a borehole which became critical for sanitation facilities in the school community and learners.  

The award came with a package that included a tablet and a certificate for the head and 40 tablets, a laptop, projector and an electronic interactive board for the school, among other items donated to the school by the ministry’s partners.

The school, which is famed for producing some of the country's icons in sport such as cricketer Regis Chakabva and musician Progress Chipfumo was commended for fully embracing the competence-based curriculum (CBC) and for its consistently high pass rate.

Like any other school in the country, it was also severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, all learners and staff at the time survived the pandemic.

Imbayarwo said he felt “humbled receiving such an award among many other schools in the country”.

Imbayarwo, who has been the headmaster at the school since 2015, but has been in the school administration since 2004 as a deputy head, said: “I hope the school maintains the standards. This is the third one: the first one was in 1986, the second one in 2010 and now a third for 2020.”

Situated in the old Harare suburb by the same name, Highfield 1 High opened its doors in 1961 as a “Group B” secondary school at the time and that status changed 18 years later. The school was accorded Advanced level status in 1975 because of its wonderful results.

However, the school has faced the same problems as other schools around the country. Being a school in a high-density area, it has encountered drug problems, bullying and non-payment of school fees among other drawbacks including the major headache for schools nowadays — the rapid loss of value in the local currency, which is the major currency used in the payment of school fees.   

Though drug abuse has not affected the learners per se, “but adolescents who are out of school who sometimes enter the school making noise and trying to sell their wares in the school yard. Fortunately, we have a police station nearer to us, we are trying to contain them”, he said.

The school has a total enrolment of 1 502 learners, 757 of whom are females and 745 boys. It has a 72-teaching staff complement, 45 of whom are females while 27 are male.

“As head of the school, I’m very happy to have supportive staff and a School Development Committee that avails resources to achieve our goals and developmental plans. We strive for excellence, hence our vision “To be a School of Excellence”, Imbayarwo said.

Meanwhile, other schools that have so far received the 2020 award this year include Victoria Junior Primary and Rufaro High schools in Masvingo province; Amandas Junior (Mashonaland Central); Sacred Heart Girls High (Matabeleand South); Eveline High and Gampu Primary (Bulawayo); Dimpamiwa Primary and Nhlambabaloyi (Matabeleland North); Highfield 1 High and Blakiston (Harare); and Nyadire Primary and Chinyika High (Mashonaland East). 

The schools were commended for providing uninterrupted access to education during the Covid19-induced school closures. They were also recognised for innovations and productive projects.

Some schools have been producing face masks needed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, while others like Eveline High — which bagged the global Ciena Solutions Challenge Sustainability Award — were urged to ensure innovations were patented to guard against theft.

Dimpamiwa Primary, which is making reusable sanitary pads for its own use, was encouraged to “scale up production so that the school can realise profit through supplying other schools and the community”. Others were recognised for commercialising education through viable ventures such as fish farming, cattle production, small livestock rearing and horticulture.

But it was also Nyahuni Adventist High which had every reason to celebrate after the school on June 7 received the Secretary’s Merit Award for being the top-performing secondary school in the implementation of CBC in Mashonaland East in 2019.