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Urgent call to protect rural schools from rainy season storms

With
ageing
infrastructure
at
many
rural
schools,
these
severe
weather
conditions
often
damage
buildings,
disrupting
education
and
putting
both
students
and
teachers
at
risk.

For
rural
schools,
the
rainy
season
brings
heightened
concerns.
Past
storms
have
ripped
off
roofs,
damaged
classrooms,
and
forced
temporary
closures.

In
recent
years,
numerous
schools
in
areas
like
Gwanda,
Nkayi,
and
Binga
have
suffered
significant
storm
damage,
with
some
suspending
classes
until
repairs
could
be
made.

The
Meteorological
Services
Department
(MSD)
is
forecasting
above-average
rainfall
for
the
2024-2025
season,
making
disaster
preparedness
more
urgent
than
ever.

Gutu
East
MP
Benjamin
Ganyiwa
recently
raised
the
issue
in
Parliament,
urging
the
Civil
Protection
Unit
(CPU)
and
other
relevant
departments
to
be
proactive
in
protecting
vulnerable
communities.

“With
the
rainy
season
upon
us,
we
need
to
ensure
we
are
ready
to
help
those
affected
by
flooding
and
storm
damage,
which
impact
both
homes
and
schools,”
Ganyiwa
said.
He
highlighted
that
MPs
often
bear
the
burden
of
assisting
affected
areas
with
limited
resources
and
called
for
coordinated
efforts
across
government
departments.

Senator
Robson
Mavenyengwa
also
questioned
the
Ministry
of
Primary
and
Secondary
Education’s
preparedness,
particularly
for
schools
in
high-risk
areas
like
Mwenezi,
where
some
students
are
taught
outdoors.

“Minister,
we
are
into
the
rain
season.
In
areas
like
Mwenezi
where
children
learn
outside,
what
plans
do
they
have
to
ensure
that
they
are
sheltered
even
under
tents?
Secondly,
we
have
seen
that
a
lot
of
schools
are
being
blown
away
by
storms.
What
is
their
state
of
preparedness
together
with
the
Civil
Protection
Unit
(CPU),
so
that
children
will
not
lose
a
lot
of
time
not
going
to
school
after
the
roofs
are
blown
away,”
he
said.

Deputy
Minister
of
Primary
and
Secondary
Education,
Angeline
Gata,
affirmed
the
Ministry’s
commitment
to
disaster
management.

She
acknowledged
that
many
schools
require
constant
maintenance
due
to
ageing
structures
vulnerable
to
high
winds
and
rain.
Gata
called
for
the
inclusion
of
a
disaster
relief
fund
in
the
national
budget
to
support
school
repairs,
a
proposal
intended
to
prevent
prolonged
closures
after
storm
damage.


When
classrooms
are
blown
away,
we
see
that
happening
in
several
areas
because
our
schools
need
continuous
attention
and
maintenance.
Now,
because
of
ageing,
these
winds
and
the
storms
are
so
harsh
and
they
are
blowing
away
the
roofs.
As
a
Ministry,
we
have
disaster
management
because
we
work
as
a
whole
of
Government.
So,
we
go
to
the
Local
Government
and
they
assist
us
because
they
have
a
risk
or
disaster
management
team,”
she
said.

Civil
Protection
Unit
Director
Nathan
Nkomo
stressed
the
importance
of
rapid
response
and
recovery
efforts
to
minimise
disruptions
in
the
education
sector.

He
outlined
the
CPU’s
strategy
for
addressing
storm
damage
at
schools,
which
involves
district-level
response
plans
tailored
to
localised
needs.

What
is
important
is
that
we
are
now
in
our
rainfall
season
and
rainfall
season
as
predicted
by
the
Meteorological
department
is
accompanied
by
heavy
winds,
hail
storms,
and
to
date
as
you
can
see,
quite
several
social
amenities
infrastructure
have
been
destroyed
and
our
only
way,
we
cannot
avoid
that
from
happening,
our
only
way
is
to
quickly
address
some
of
the
challenges,
especially
in
the
learning
environment
where
schools
are
affected,
we
need
to
quickly
recover
from
the
effects
of
such
eventualities,”
said
Nkomo.

“Normally,
where
the
situation
is
clear,
we
always
opt
for
relief
in
terms
of
infrastructure,
food
assistance
and
relief
in
terms
of
any
other
assistance
that
a
community
might
require.
That
is
our
first
issue
because
we
need
to
save
lives.”

Nkomo
outlined
that
response
plans
are
already
in
place
across
all
districts
to
ensure
that
each
area
can
handle
localized
incidents
efficiently

“From
there,
we
get
into
the
recovery
part,
as
a
country
you
know
we
are
decentralized,
all
local
government
structures
and
every
district
is
now
active
and
the
requirement
is
that
every
District
must
have
a
response
plan
to
handle
peculiar
incidences
in
their
various
provinces.
Because
of
geographical
differences,
some
of
these
national
calamities
come
in
various
forms
and
we
end
up
having
different
areas
affected
differently,
so
every
administrative
structure
must
have
a
response
plan.

“It
is
our
wish
to
have
these
response
plans
at
the
household
level
because
I
am
sure
the
disaster
risk
management
starts
at
any
community
which
is
a
homestead,”
he
said.

With
Parliament
and
the
Senate
actively
pushing
for
increased
government
support
and
disaster
preparedness,
there
is
hope
for
better
protection
of
rural
schools
this
rainy
season.

By
investing
in
proactive
measures,
the
country
can
help
safeguard
its
students’
education,
minimise
disruption,
and
build
resilience
against
the
annual
impact
of
severe
weather.