Tribalism rocks Hillside Teachers College

For many years the Hillside teachers college in the Hillside suburb of Bulawayo has stood head and shoulders over its fellow colleges, producing a high calibre of secondary school teachers.

Among the problems bedevilling the institution today though is the rampant tribalism that has rocked the college. An investigative journalist attached to the Hillside Post spoke to one of the lecturers who insisted on anonymity. The lecturer who has been at the institution for more than a decade says the problem started about five years ago.

"Yes, we do have a serious problem of tribalism although no one wants to talk about it let alone admit it. One just has to look at our enrollment trend. Most applicants from Matebeleland are turned away while places are reserved for applicants from outside the region."

It is reported that even the sporting teams representing the institution this year are almost totally made up of Shona speaking students while the locals are deliberately left out.

"We challenge anyone who disputes these facts to visit the college and see for themselves," a 3rd-year student also said.

Students have also been complaining about lecturers who deliver their lecturers in Shona., "he always delivers his lecturers in Shona and when we ask him to speak in English he insults us and says Zimbabwe is a Shona country. How are we expected to pass when we can't hear what the lecturer is saying. Most of us don't even attend his lecturers anymore," an angry first-year student said, describing one of her lecturers (name withheld).

Our reporter attended a gid at the institution last Friday to get first hand insight into the college social life and in his own words said, "there really seems to be a problem at this institution, of all the students I spoke to, 3 out of 5 were Shona speakers and even more than 95% of the songs were shona zimdancehall, I thought I was in Harare. Efforts to contact Sibindi the acting principal were fruitless.

A leader of a local political party said they were aware of the issue and blamed the government saying this was part of the 1979 Grand Plan which seeks to destroy Matebeleland by marginalising it and depriving its citizens of education.

"You see, if you read the Grand Plan of 1979 you will understand. It details how the Ndebele people will be subjected to a genocide and ethnic cleansing (which we saw in the early 1980s with Gukurahundi) this would be followed by cultural genocide and marginalisation, deprivation opportunities which will force our children to leave the country opening up space for amaShona to occupy. Its all in their plan you should read it."

The Hillside Post will bring you more of this story in its next edition.