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Freedom Mupanedemo Midlands Bureau
Zimbabwe needs 3 000 more schools to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pupils, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema has said.

In an interview yesterday, Minister Mathema said the country has 9 500 schools, which are overwhelmed.

“Of the 9 500 schools, 8 500 are Government schools while the remainder are private schools. We also have 150 000 pupils in need of boarding schools, but we currently have the capacity to accommodate only 24 000 boarders nationwide,” he said.

Minister Mathema called on private investors to invest in schools as Government alone was not able to meet the demand.

He said some of the existing infrastructure was dilapidated and needed renovations.

“In line with the new Government thrust, we want modern schools, we want schools that have clean running water, flushing and solar systems,” he said.

Minister Mathema said owners of huge tracts of land should consider building schools.

“In Israel, a farm is at most two hectares, but here we have people with large tracts of land, which at times is not in use. It is ideal to make use of those pieces of land, turning them into school infrastructure,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gweru City council is considering allowing its schools to reintroduce hot-seating.

Gweru city by-laws prohibit hot-seating.

Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe said the recent full council meeting discussed the issue.

“The issue was deliberated in our last full council meeting after it was noted that some classes had more than 60 pupils.

“So the issue was deliberated and we expect to come up with a resolution soon,” he said.