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Sharon Chigeza Manicaland Correspondent
Rural schools in Manicaland Province have managed to upstage their urban counterparts by winning qualifiers for National Museums and Monuments (NMMZ) Heritage Education Quiz competitions regional finals pencilled in for tomorrow.
Mutare Museum heritage education officer Mr Kainos Mukonavanhu attributed the success of the rural school first-timers to NMMZ’s extensive outreach educational programmes.

“We have been engaged in extensive outreach programmes with rural schools and in addition to that, we have availed resources to the schools,” he said. “Mutare Museum has made efforts to avail past quiz questions for practice, as well as advised schools to source textbooks such as publications by National Archives of Zimbabwe.”

Of note is Chitakatira Primary School, representing Mutare district, which qualified for the first time.
It toppled Mutare district defending champions, Chancellor Primary, as well as national record holder, Mutare Junior School.
Chancellor Primary School and Mutare Junior, both from Mutare district, jointly hold the national record of having won the competition four times at national finals since its inception in 1993.

Over the last four years, the intensity of the competition has increased and witnessed the emergence of new powerhouses such as Murambinda B and Mount Mellary, who have challenged the dominance of the two Mutare giants.

Little-known Matendeudze Primary School of Chimanimani district, as well as Chitombo Primary (Mutasa district’s defending champions) are among the top qualifiers for tomorrow’s regional finals at Mutare Museum.

Seven teams representing each of Manicaland’s seven districts are to battle it out to become the provincial champions and for the right to represent the province at the national finals to be held in Masvingo in May.

This year’s provincial finalists are Chitakatira Primary School (Mutare), Chipinge Primary (Chipinge), Chitombo Primary (Mutasa), John Cowie (Makoni), Murambinda B (Buhera), Matendeudze Primary School (Chimanimani) and Nyanga’s Mount Mellary Primary School.

Tomorrow’s winners will represent the province at the national finals.
The Heritage Education Quiz Competition is an annual programme run by the NMMZ for primary schools with the aim of improving awareness, understanding and appreciation of Zimbabwe’s national heritage.

With the introduction of Heritage Studies in the new curriculum by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Schools, museums are perfectly placed to make a vital contribution in the learning of the subject through their wide array of collections and expert knowledge from their research depart- ments.

Museums offer the teachers and pupils with an out-of-classroom learning experience, which is relaxed and improves interactivity.