Plumtree High struggling to lure pupils, enrolment tanks

PLUMTREE Boys High School is now is contemplating to enroll girls to address the enrolment crisis that has hit the former top school located in the small border town of Plumtree.


The school head, Sipho Khumalo, told parents during a prize giving day on Saturday that the school would propose to enroll girls to address enrolment problems which were a major stumbling block to its development.

 He said the school opened with 176 pupils at the beginning of the year and was targeting to enrol at least 100 Form One pupils for next year in order to get the school back on track.

"The school's a sinking ship because of our poor enrolment. A number of hostels and classrooms are lying idle and we're struggling to renovate our buildings because of low revenue from levies being collected.

Khumalo said as a result of low enrolment figures the school was forced to transfer five teachers who moved to rural schools at the beginning of the term as it was overstaffed.

But Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director, Tumisang Thabela said it would be difficult to have the school's proposition to enrol girls accepted as the school was built specifically for the boy child.

She urged the school authorities to reduce their levies in order to make the fees affordable to local residents and also implored the school to widen its curriculum.

Last year the school recorded a zero percent pass rate in A-Level Biology and O-Level Chemistry.
Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director, Tumisang Thabela urged the school to widen its curriculum.

While other schools are complaining about being understaffed and over populated, it is a different case for Plumtree High School which currently has 274 pupils out of an expected 500 with more pupils enrolling in rural schools.