School drop-outs crisis in Matabeleland South

THIRTY-ONE percent of pupils in Matabeleland South Province who completed Grade Seven last year dropped out of school due to various reasons, an official has said.

According to the Chronicle, Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director, Mrs Tumisang Thabela, said long distances to schools, failure to pay school fees, teenage pregnancies among other reasons had caused pupils to drop out of school.

Presenting a report on the state of the education sector, Mrs Thabela said the province had a shortfall of 1 552 teachers at ECD level, 369 at primary school level and 86 at secondary school level.

She said most were science subjects teachers.

Mrs Thabela said most secondary schools offer a partial curriculum which excludes natural sciences, technical and vocational subjects.

She urged schools faced with such challenges to organise holiday camps for pupils to cover up for time lost during the course of the term.