Sadizwa School Development Committee

A survey by the Manicaland Provincial Education Director in 2005 established that in schools where none of the pupils passed their Grade 7 exams, there was a bad relationship between the school administration and the community members in the School Development Committee. It was clear that the situation was similar in other parts of the country. To remedy the situation, a partnership was forged between SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the Ministry of Education in three provinces with the aim of training School Development Committees. In 2009 a total of 256 schools were trained. The trainings which brought together school administrators and parent representatives focused on ensuring that committees acquire the capacity to understand relevant policies that govern their functions. The areas covered included financial management, school development, the committee’s role in ensuring quality education as well handling conflict and community relations.

These training experiences culminated in the development of a School Development Committee training manual and handbook. This training manual and handbook can be used by the School Development Committee and school administration as a reference to issues that need clarification in schools. The two will also be used as key tools when the programme is further up-scaled in 2010 to all primary schools in Zimbabwe.

With up-scaling SNV and the Ministry hope to replicate the good results. In a small sample in Mutasa and Buhera District a simple study was conducted to identify the effects of the training. While the District Education Officers and representative from the provincial education office were involved in quality control and supervision of the trainings after 8 months, the same team assessed and evaluated the progress on the ground and provided advice on the challenges faced by the schools. The general observation is that the trainings contributed to more transparency and greater accountability in the schools: 55% of the schools changed financial practices; 19% of the schools received more support from the community; 75% of the schools are now abiding to the relevant laws; and 90% of the heads and chairpersons said that relations in the Committees had improved.

The head of Ruda School is confident that the training will improve her school in many respects: "I gained confidence and knowledge on how to work with the SDC while the parent representatives broadened their leadership from physical infrastructure development in the school to include its intellectual development."

The Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture in partnership with SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the Educational Transition Fund will upscale the programme in 2010 and build the capacity of all 5300 School Development Committees in Zimbabwe so that learning not only improves, but that pupils also enjoy learning more.