Kapingidza (2014, p. 1) states, “Zimbabwe is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (AFRWC). Both instruments stipulate the right of the child to education.” Hence, ratification of the international conventions coupled in the Government of Zimbabwe’s investment in education especially in the decade just after independence can be largely viewed as a commitment itself to the Millennium Development Goals. Goal 2 of the Millennium Development Goals underlines the achievement of Universal Primary Education by 2015. Mupa (2012, p. 3) chronicles
Education for All (EFA) is a historic commitment to basic education taken on by the International Community in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990 and reaffirmed at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000 (World Bank, 2002); and at the UN Conference in New York.
In addition, Mupa (2012, p. 13) reported, “the commitment reflects a vision that all children, young people, and adults have the human right to benefit from an education that would meet their basic learning needs in the best and fullest sense of the term.” Thus, the establishment of satellite schools in resettled farms can be viewed in the light of affirming to the Government of Zimbabwe’s commitment to both quantity and quality of education in the country.
48 The land reform in Zimbabwe has given birth to a new phenomenon in the education system in the form of satellite schools. Mutema (2012, p. 102) averred, “previously there were no schools around commercial farms as white farmers had very small families and they either drove their children to schools far away from their farms or sent them to boarding schools.”
Thus, the advent of land reform gave birth to the mushrooming of satellite schools in and around the former commercial farms. Tarisayi (2015, p 303) revealed, “that the advent of land reform in Zimbabwe since the year 2000 has had a profound impact across the socio- political landscapes including education.” The satellite schools were a product of the realisation that there was a need to provide education to the children of land reform beneficiaries on the new farms. In addition, the emergency provisioning of satellite schools can be linked to the recommendations in the Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training (Nziramasanga, 1999). According to Nziramasanga (1999, p.123), “The education system needs to provide all children, particularly for those children who find themselves in especially difficult circumstances …” Thus, children on the resettlement farms can be viewed as being in difficult circumstances as Kabayanjiri (2012) reveals that children had to walk long distances prior to the establishment of satellite schools. Mavundutse, Munetsi, Mamvuto, Mavhunga, Kangai and Gatsi (2012) argued that land reform resuscitated some of the problems and challenges experienced at independence such as the problem of access to education in children in these resettlement areas. The Nziramasanga Report points out that, in many cases, education in the resettlement area was not planned for when people were in former commercial farms and this became a source of problems (Nziramasanga, 1999). These new schools are mainly in the new farms to cater for the educational needs and the right to education of children of the land reform beneficiaries.
Mavundutse et al (2012, p. 299) assert, “They were also referred to as ‘satellite’ schools as they were attached to or regarded as extensions of already established nearby schools for administrative purposes.” Various views have been extended on the concept of a satellite school although it is a relatively new phenomenon. The advent of new resettlement communities due to the FTLRP has come together with the fast track establishment of social services. Matondi (2012, p. 169) explained, “The schools were termed satellite schools because they were linked to the main established centres, but they had inadequate resources (teachers and equipment).” In addition, Hlupo and Tsikira (2012, p. 604) explain, “a satellite school as a budding school operating under the auspices of a well-established mother school.”
49 Whereas, Munjanganja and Machavira (2014, p. 22) aver, “A satellite school is one that is not registered but is attached to a registered school commonly referred to as the mother school.”
While Langa, cited in Hlupo and Tsikira (2012, p. 604) stated that, “the birth of satellite schools was a stop-gap measure since the schools do not meet the expectations of conventional schools.” Matondi (2012, p. 168) concurred, “schools in the newly resettled areas were, therefore, set up with only minimum requirements being met, such as sanitation and qualified staff.” The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (2015, p. 1) revealed that “there are 803 secondary satellite schools from a total of 2,719 secondary schools as well as 993 satellite primary schools from a total of 4,912”. However, it should be noted that despite the satellite school phenomena being a product of the land reform it was extended to communal areas. Communal areas that did not have schools imitated developments in education in the land reform areas and established their own satellite schools. The establishment and role played in the communities appear from the outside to be uniform but this study reveals otherwise as shall be elaborated later in this study. Therefore, this study is informed in the realisation that satellite schools have mushroomed both among land reform beneficiaries and communal farmers.
The establishment of satellite schools on resettlement farms can be viewed in the light of affirming the Government of Zimbabwe’s commitment to both quantity and quality of education in the country. According to Mutema (2012), education is an essential component of sustainable development. Therefore, satellite schools should be viewed as an investment in the sustainability of land reform as a development initiative. In addition, it can be argued that satellite schools are a new phenomenon in education and in the Zimbabwean education system. There is ostensibly, a dearth of literature pertaining to satellite schools as has already been revealed that this type of school is a new phenomenon and hence it is imperative that it be studied.
50 Plate 2.1 A thatched classroom at a satellite school in Masvingo Province (Field data:
2015)
The state, it was argued, left the communities to build their own schools among other social amenities in the new resettlement areas (Hlupo & Tsikira, 2012). Tarisayi (2015, p. 306) states, “the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education expects resettled communities to take up the initiative of constructing schools but such communities are scratching for a living.” Thus, the land reform has led to a new trend whereby the community has to unite (bridging social capital) and pull resources together to construct buildings for satellite schools. The Parliament of Zimbabwe (2012, p. 5) states, “the state of the infrastructure, that is classrooms, teachers’ accommodation and ablution facilities in satellite schools ranges from non-existent; huts made of pole, mud and thatch; dilapidated old farm houses or tobacco barns to two classroom blocks and two houses and ablution facilities.”
51 Plate 2.2 A classroom without furniture at a satellite school in Masvingo Province (Field
data: 2015)
Plates 2.1 and 2.2 show the state of some satellite schools in Masvingo province. Plate 2.1 shows learners learning while sitting on the ground. The infrastructure at the satellite schools is deplorable as revealed by the above pictures. The next section discusses communal areas and communal farmers in Zimbabwe. This study sought to understand the social capital influences of land reform beneficiaries and communal farmers on satellite, thus it is imperative that the literature on communal farmers be discussed.