Page 1 of 6
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 09
October 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 303
An Exploration of the Challenges Encountered By Satellite
Schools in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe.
Kudzayi Savious Tarisayi
Foundation Training Institute, Zimbabwe
kudzayit@gmail.com
Abstract
This paper explores the challenges facing
satellite schools in Masvingo district. Data
was generated through semi-structured
interviews with teachers, school heads and
parents in this study. The sample for this
study constituted satellite schools in
resettlement (land reform areas) in
Masvingo district. The researcher
purposively sampled fifty participants from
a sample of five satellite schools in
Masvingo district. The study findings
revealed that satellite schools faced
challenges which include water
constraints, low enrolment, and poor
working conditions for teachers,
affiliations and levies, inadequate
community support and cooperation, lack
of resources among others. The study
recommends that the Ministry of Primary
and Secondary Education should set up a
special fund for supporting satellite
schools. In addition, satellite schools
should be exempted from paying affiliations
and levies until they are registered.
Keywords: satellite schools, challenges,
Masvingo district
1.0 Introduction
Discourse on the land reform in Zimbabwe
has arguably been pluralistic and proffering
a multiplicity of perspectives. Most
research has been confined to political and
economic narratives without necessarily
interrogating the implications of the land
reform on social services such as education.
Mavundutse et al (2012) state that the
advent of land reform in Zimbabwe since
the year 2000 has had a profound impact
across the socio-political landscape
including education. The onset of the land
reform has been accompanied by a new
phenomenon in education of satellite
schools. Langa (2012) state that the birth of
satellite schools was a stop-gap measure
since the schools do not meet the
expectations of conventional schools.
While Hlupo and Tsikira (2012:604) define
a satellite school as, “budding school
operating under the auspices of a well- established mother school. According to the
Minister of Primary and Secondary
Education, there are 1425 satellite schools
in Zimbabwe (The Herald, 2014).
According to the Report of the Thematic
Committee on Millennium Development
Goals on the provision of education in
resettled areas the government of
Zimbabwe has left the funding and
construction of satellite schools to the
community (Parliament of Zimbabwe,
2012).
2.0 Objectives of the study
This study was guided by the following
objectives;
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Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 09
October 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 304
To assess the state of satellite
schools in Masvingo district.
To identify challenges inhibiting the
satellite schools.
To make recommendations to
address these challenges.
3.0 Methodology
Data for the study was gathered through
semi-structured interviews with teachers,
school heads and parents. Gill et al (2008)
elucidates that semi-structured interviews
involve numerous questions that make it
easier to discover the parts that give
meaning to the research and it also allows
the interviewer to choose an impression of
the interviewee or get them to explain their
response more thoroughly. The researcher
purposively sampled five (5) satellite
schools and from these four (4) teachers,
five (5) parents and one (1) school head per
satellite school were sampled. Thus, the
researcher utilised a sample of fifty
participants.
4.0 Context of the study
The study was carried out in Masvingo
district. The district has ten (10) satellite
secondary schools. The satellite secondary
schools are mainly located in areas
inhabited by land reform programme
beneficiaries. While a few satellite schools
have been established in communal areas.
Thus, the study area falls mainly within the
resettlement areas of Masvingo district.
5.0 Validity
Struwig and Stead (2001:136) aver that
validity is the extent to which a research
design is scientifically sound or
appropriately conducted. Simon (2011)
elaborates that there are various approaches
a researcher can use to address validity and
reliability in qualitative studies, the most
popular include: triangulation of
information among different sources of
data, receiving feedback from informants
(member checking), and expert review. In
this study, the researcher will triangulate
sources of data as data will be obtained
from school heads, teachers and parents.
Thus, the utilisation of multiple data
sources (teachers, heads and parents)
enhanced validity of this study.
6.0 Ethical Considerations
Several ethical issues were given due
cognisance in this study. Several ethical
issues were considered while collecting
data because data collection always costs
someone something. Chireshe (2000:06) in
Mugweni (2012:149) avers that ethics
entail, “... a moral philosophy that deals
with making judgements, good or bad,
proper or improper, approval or
disapproval, right or wrong”. According to
Wallman (2006:148), “ethics are the rules
of conduct in research”. The researcher
observed voluntary participation,
confidentiality and anonymity in this study.
7.0 Findings of the study
7.1 Lack of resources
There was consensus among the
participants in the study that the main
challenge faced by satellite secondary
schools in Masvingo district was lack of
resources. It was noted by all the
participants (100 %) that the establishment
and construction of satellite schools was
grossly affected by financial resource
constraints. While, there was an apparent
Page 3 of 6
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 09
October 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 305
need for funds to build classrooms, toilets
and teacher’s accommodation at the
budding schools, efforts were being
hampered by lack of resources across the
satellite schools.
In addition, the participants (80 %) in the
study revealed that there was a lack of
teaching materials. Teaching materials such
as stationery, syllabi and textbooks were
revealed as deficient among satellite
secondary schools. Teachers who
participated in the study also revealed that
there were no funds at their schools to
finance their attendance of subject panel
workshops. Thus, the teachers were not
abreast with latest developments in their
respective subjects and teaching methods.
Hence, the researcher noted that due to the
lack of resources satellite secondary
schools were facing a multiplicity of
challenges.
7.2 Infrastructure
The study also revealed that satellite
secondary schools had infrastructural
challenges. The majority of participants (90
%) in the study stated that they did not have
buildings that meet the minimum
functionality requirements as stated by the
Ministry of Primary and Secondary
Education. From the participant satellite
schools only one school had two completed
classroom blocks and two F14 teacher’s
house. According to the Report of the
Thematic Committee on Millennium
Development Goals on the provision of
education in resettlement areas for a school
to qualify for registration it should have at
least 2 F14 standard teachers house, at least
two classroom blocks and adequate toilet
facilities (1 hole: 20 girls and 1 hole:25
boys) (Parliament of Zimbabwe, 2012).
From the study it can be revealed that the
majority of satellite schools (80 %) do not
have adequate infrastructure. The schools
are operating from the buildings of primary
schools and former farm houses (Hlupo &
Tsikira, 2012).
The study also revealed that there was a
critical shortage of accommodation at the
satellite schools. Participants in the study,
at one satellite school revealed that they
were provided accommodation by a
primary school which was four (4) km away
from their school site. Thus, it meant that
the teachers walked eight (8) kilometres
every day to and from work. One
respondent remarked, “Tinofamba
makiromita gumi zuva rimwe nerimwe
rinomera”. (We have have to walk ten
kilometres to each and every day of the
week to work). Thus, this further reveals
glaringly that there was a dire
accommodation crisis at the satellite
schools.
7.3 Poor working conditions for teachers
The participants revealed that there were
poor working conditions for teachers in
satellite secondary schools. Seventy percent
(70 %) of the participants working
conditions for the teachers revealed that
teachers working in satellite secondary
schools were exposed to appalling and poor
working conditions. As has already been
highlighted that teachers at some satellite
schools have to walk long distances to
work. In addition, lack of resources and
infrastructural constraints have a bearing on
the working conditions of teachers. School
