Presenting a health and social services sub-committee
second quarter report during the Matabeleland South Provincial Development
Committee meeting yesterday, provincial social welfare officer, Mr Criswell
Nyakudya said this figure is worrying given that the country is working towards
achieving quality, equitable and inclusive education at all levels.
The drop-outs were also attributed to teenage pregnancies
and lack of interest in school among others.
Mr Nyakudya said the province has made significant progress
in ensuring access to universal primary education. “The province has made significant strides in
achieving universal primary education, a key challenge remains in the access to
quality, equitable and inclusive education across education levels.
“During the second quarter of the year, there has been an
increase in access to education at the primary level due to the contribution of
private players especially at the ECD level,” he said.
“A gap still remains at the secondary level. The provincial
enrolment during the second quarter went down by 3,1 percent.
This means that 1 753 pupils dropped out of secondary
school during the period under review.”
Mr Nyakudya said the province recorded an improvement in
non-formal education as 5 369 pupils enrolled surpassing the set target of 4
800. He said 3 577 pupils were enrolled in vocational training centres in the
province.
Mr Nyakudya said a number of schools in the province are
running viable commercial ventures such as goat-rearing, poultry, piggery, cattle
ranching, horticulture and fishery.
He said the issue of child protection remains a major
concern in the province with a number of children being abused within their
home set up.
“A total of 136 children were placed under residential care
during the second quarter. This means that these children were removed from the
communities where they were staying because they were not being properly taken
care of, some were being ill-treated, abandoned or their guardians were no
longer in a position to look after them,” said Mr Nyakudya.
“These children were then removed from society and placed
in institutions. Effective social protection and safety nets, policies,
systems, and programmes play a major role in reducing poverty and
vulnerability, redressing inequality, and promoting inclusive growth and
development of human capital.”
Mr Nyakudya said it is important for all members of the
community to take child protection issues seriously. He said 30 children were
placed under foster care during the same period. “Guardians in the province
were now forthcoming to foster children. A total of 39 children with
disabilities were assisted with rights-based services while 317 children were
assisted on drug and substance abuse-related services,” said Mr Nyakudya. Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment