Maphisa – President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has officially commissioned a new computer laboratory and three classroom blocks at Mahetshe Primary School in Maphisa, announcing that an entire province will be connected to the internet under an ambitious digital education rollout.

The President handed over to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerai Moyo a total of 210 computers and 208 Starlink internet kits. While 60 computers will remain at Mahetshe Primary School, the remaining 150 computers and all 208 Starlink kits will be distributed to schools across Matabeleland South Province.

“Not one school. Not one district. An entire province is being connected to the internet, to the future, to opportunity,” Minister Moyo said following the commissioning.

The minister declared that a longstanding digital divide is now closing. “For too long, children in Matabeleland South opened textbooks while their counterparts elsewhere opened laptops. That chapter is closing today. A new one written in fibre, satellite signal, and possibility begins now.”

He described the initiative as the “ED2030 education vision made real” – a Zimbabwe where geography no longer determines a child’s access to global knowledge. “Where a child in Maphisa has the same window to the world as a child in Harare.”

Minister Moyo thanked President Mnangagwa for making education a “non-negotiable pillar of the Second Republic.”

Educational Milestones Achieved by the Second Republic (since 2017):

The second republic has embarked on Competence-Based Curriculum from 2017-2022. It has overhauled the education system to focus on practical skills, heritage studies, and continuous assessment, moving away from purely exam-driven learning.

The Education Amendment Act of 2020 has made primary and secondary education compulsory and free, removing barriers for millions of vulnerable children. Government has also adopted and introduced Heritage-Based Education under a 2024-2030 model. According to the model, government itroduced a learning framework that emphasises STEM, entrepreneurship, and vocational training, with learners now able to exit at Form 2, Form 4, or Upper Sixth with employable skills.

The second republic has also seen the construction of over 2,500 new school blocks nationwide, including satellite schools in previously underserved rural areas. There has also been the devolution of Schools in 2023 which has seen the transfer of 2,700 schools from government to devolved authorities to improve local governance and resource allocation.

Government has also launched the Ministry’s Enterprise Resource Planning system, which has seen the computerisation of over 1,500 schools, and integration of ICT into the national curriculum.

President Mnangagwa’s administration has also embarled on the school feeding programme to cover over 4 million children in all 10 provinces, boosting attendance and learning outcomes.

The Mahetshe Primary School project, which includes three newly constructed classroom blocks, marks the latest step in the government’s push to ensure that rural schools are not left behind in the digital age.