John Cowie revels in Secretary’s Merit Award

Samuel Kadungure Senior Reporter
There are many advantages for a society to invest resources into making quality education available to learners and one had to be at John Cowie Primary School in Rusape on the occasion of the coveted Secretary’s Merit Award for 2016 on Wednesday to appreciate the fruits of working in a meritorious, worthwhile, estimable, excellent, exemplary, upright and righteous way.

The Secretary’s Merit Award is meant to inspire various categories of teaching and learning institutions to continuously strive for excellence.

Through the award, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education seeks to enhance an updated curriculum which equips learners with relevant knowledge and robust skills for self-empowerment.

Other factors taken into consideration include curriculum pathway structure, Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Technical Vocational Education, e-teaching and e-learning, holistic sports and culture, learner welfare and sustainable environment management.

John Cowie is famed for brilliant Grade Seven results coupled with various infrastructural developments.

In 2012 John Cowie attained a 98.3 percent Grade Seven pass-rate, 100 percent in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 99.42 percent in 2016. The results are symptomatic of high quality teaching, leadership and parenting processes at the school.

John Cowie used to maintain a 100 percent pass rate at Grade Seven, a feat that saw it being accorded the 2007 Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture’s Secretary’s Merit Award.

John Cowie’s head is Mr Garikai Nyawo with Mrs Mudzingwa deputising him.

Since Mr Nyawo’s arrival barely four years ago, John Cowie has undergone a positive institutional and infrastructural metamorphosis and assets acquisition with the notable successes being the completion of 3×4 classroom blocks, purchasing of a 65-seater school bus and school truck, establishment of a computer lab, purchasing of a 100KVA generator, fencing of the school perimeter, repainting and repair of existing classrooms and girls’ hostels, refurbishment of the swimming pool, refurbishment of the deputy head’s office and strong room, construction of a 400m precast wall as well as acquisition of 600 desks and chairs.

The school is involved in income generating projects namely egg layers, broilers, gardening, cattle fattening, uniform selling and tuckshop.

Production and sales records are being kept by pupils under the guidance of their facilitators. The learners will definitely be able to rear broilers and layers when they leave school if they are provided with resources, thus acquiring life skills capable of creating employment.

The Secretary’s Merit Award goes with $5 000 prize money. FBC Bank, as part of its social responsibility, also chipped in with 45 tablets, an interactive board and projector -which are all valued at $10 000. Mr Nyawo said John Cowie was known for quality and was recognised for outstanding achievements in the provision of quality and relevant education and in the promotion and development of sport, arts and culture.

“The award of this prestigious award has not only helped to motivate and inspire us, but has also confirmed the right direction in which our school is moving. Notwithstanding, the process leading to the award also revealed the areas in which we need to buttress effort and resources in order to create a strategic school organisation. Hence like an eagle, we shall remove old feathers for purposes of organisation renewal and development,” said Mr Nyawo.

“Our vision to become a global competitor in the facilitation and provision of primary education and related services is indeed a shared vision among learners, staff, parents and guardians. It is this shared vision that has given us wings to fly and wheels to land.

“The vision of being globally competitive has also given us a realisation that modern practices in education in terms of deliverables, interactive and formatives need to be researched and aligned to modern recommended trends. You must have already noticed that our vision speaks not of teaching, but facilitation, thus creating a harmonious relationship with the expectations and philosophy of the updated curriculum.

“Our school motto: ‘Worthy of our nation’, is very compelling in terms of how John Cowie approaches educational programmes and policies and how it produces its products. The definition of the word worthy is “having adequate or great merit, character or value. Our drive as a school is production of work or character that is emulated due to adequacy and consistency. Whether in class or in the field, we endeavour to work in a meritorious, worthwhile, estimable, excellent, exemplary, upright and righteous way.

We encourage our facilitators and learners to work in manners that are blameworthy, noteworthy, and trustworthy so that they are good ambassadors or representatives of the school and community at large,” said Mr Nyawo.

Mission
“A passionate commitment to the provision of high quality education and production of market relevant products at any given time epoch”.

Values
Patriotism, Unhuism, Teamwork, Development and diversity, Empowerment and achievement, Honesty and Transparent, and Commitment

In presenting the award, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango thanked teachers, parents and the School Development Committee led by Mr Pius Mushaya for being pro-development and pro-the up-dated curriculum.

Dr Utete-Masango commended efforts by the school to be ICT compliant, saying technological development was the in-thing and no school should lag behind.

“There are two primary choices in life, its either you accept conditions as they exist or you accept the responsibility of changing them. As the head, you are the solution. The graveyard is filled with people who never solved problems they were meant to solve. Do you want to belong to that category?  It is incumbent upon every head that is worth the salt of being called that to leave a legacy. What is you are going to leave behind? Mr Nyawo has left a legacy; he has left a mark that he shall be remembered for. So we must introspect,” said Dr Utete-Masango.

“It is a pleasure to come to a school where the head, teachers, learners, the SDC and parents have a shared vision. We want to thank you for a shared vision to provide optimum conditions conducive to teaching and learning. Definitely, the conditions here at John Cowie are conducive to teaching-learning. I had a tour of the whole school and all I can say is you are doing well. What you are seeing here is through team work and if you are not operating as a team at your schools, you have failed before you even started.

“The learners were actually leading everything, and it shows there is high respect of the learners at this school. You could tell that the learners are being groomed, and we want to say to John Cowie, WELL DONE, KEEP ON SHINNING. At John Cowie we have a great head that inspires. Your achievements should make you a beacon of excellence. Your challenge is you have to continue aiming even higher. Do not sit on your laurels. Beat your own record,” said Dr Utete-Masango.

School Development Plans

Infrastructure
Construction of standalone ECD centre (12 classrooms)

Construction of specialist tech-voc rooms (6 ) i.e. performing arts or music, home economics, agriculture, art room, wood technology and gymnasium. Construction of school hall and building additional and modern dormitories.

Sport
Construction of multi purpose basket, net and volleyball pitches. Construction of sport pavilion and ablution block

Curricula
Continuous training of facilitators on implementation of updated curriculum. To acquire computers incrementally so that every learner has access to a computer in the classroom; Acquisition of interactive boards and projectors for each classroom; Intensification of the research method as strategy for putting learners at centre of learning and sharpening their problem solving and innovative capacities.