Poverty fuelling school dropouts in Nkayi District

Thandekile Sibanda

NKAYI-Nkayi District residents have registered concern at the alarming rate at which school going age children are neglecting their education in a bid to find easier and quicker ways to make money due to pressing economic challenges.

 A considerable number of children are resorting to illegal gold panning among other unsafe practices to fend off financial challenges in their homes. Consequently, cases of child labour are on the increase.

Nkayi is a rural district in Natural Region IV, Matabeleland North, a predominantly rain-fed agricultural region with no reasonable production.

Climate change, low rainfall (<650mm/year) and sporadic droughts characterise the district. 

According to the ZimVac 2013 recorded Nkayi as the poorest district in the country considering lack of natural resources and deficits in production. 

The poverty datum line is that on average, a person in Nkayi lives on below $1.50 USD per day and more than 22% of the population is in extreme poverty.

Food self-sufficiency varies from 3 to 10 months depending on the annual rainfall, leaving rural households extremely vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

According to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education statistics, 601 Learners (195 boys and 406 girls) dropped out of school in year 2021 due to different factors. 

Poverty is the leading factor as parents are completely failing to meet education costs and this  has left affected children with little choice but to opt for gold panning which subjects them to child labour.

Community Podium investigations revealed that secondary schools in Nkayi are losing young boys to unsafe and illegal gold panning in areas such as Inyathi and Kezi where gold panning is rampant.

Mthandazo Matshazi, a parent confirmed that young boys and girls in secondary schools are losing interest in education because of lack of resources and financial support from parents. 

“Nkayi is probably  the worst in terms of school fees payment 

 in the province. This is largely due to poverty stemming from unemployment. Unfortunately, the children are bearing the brunt of the unfavourable situation,” said Matshazi.

He said the level of desperation in some families is so bad that young girls are being forced into early marriages to try and escape the biting poverty.

“Some children are being forced into rigorous jobs like cattle herding, gold panning and house cleaning at ages as young as 14,” said Matshazi.

A teacher in Mpumelelo who preferred anonymity said over 30 learners from her school dropped out before completing their ‘O’ Levels in the last year and she is convinced that economic challenges were the driving factor.

“I think the situation could have been different if the economy and financial status of families was normal because that way, we would have less people turning to illegal panning, early marriages and other ‘get quick money’ schemes. It is so sad that our children are forced to either join the gold panning bandwagon or emigrate to South Africa in search of work.

We are living in a community where children don’t get inspired by education anymore because the effort and investments towards education are low and there seems to be very little returns from investing in education. The few who excel and complete their schooling are donor funded,” she said.

Village Head of Mtshatshane Village in Nkayi, Racheal Ndlovu expressed sadness over the growing number of young people of school going age involved in illegal gold mining.

“The situation is bad because the district is being robbed of future leaders. We will not produce any doctors, teachers, and engineers and all this is due to the economic situation. Our children are now bereft of any motivation to pursue education as jobs such as cattle herding, cross boarder trading and gold panning have become so attractive and sought after,” 

Education is the backbone of any nation. Zimbabwe is what it is because it has professionals whose brains and expertise are globally coveted. But we have this situation in Nkayi where the number of school drop outs is worrisome due to proximity to gold in the area.

Unsurprisingly, most Nkayi offices are manned by people from other places because our children are dropping out of school. We need to have our own nurses, teachers, doctors and professors and this can only be achieved if we can assuage poverty and design ways of investing in the education of our children,” she said

Blessing Hadebe, who dropped out of school to venture into gold panning said after losing both his parents he fell on hard times and his guardians could not afford to buy exercise books. He  also revealed that sometimes they could even sleep without having any food. For Blessing, going to the mines was the only solution to help his family.

“Exposure to the world of gold panning has made me realise that education is not the only key to success. I found out that access to money is the only solution. I have seen educated people who have no money, so I cannot really say I made a mistake because I am doing well,” he said.

A young girl by the name Nomagugu Ncube from Jabulisa who also dropped out of school for house cleaning jobs in Nkayi Centre also opined that it is better to earn a little money and help the family because situations in homes are not sustainable.

” I left school because I used to stay with a single mother who is supporting 4 children. My brother has a wife at home and both are not working. They must be fed by my mother through farming. The situation is unbearable back home. In contrast, I lead a better life here at my workplace. School was no longer an option because I was never able to pay school fees from Forms 1 to 3,” said Nomagugu.

Joseph Siziba (17), from Zinyangeni area who has also taken up gold panning for a living related his encounters in the mines and the dangers thereof.

“I came here because we barely had food to eat at home. In this place, no one is considered a child. Everyone has to work hard in the deep pits and endure the heat and gas emissions. Hard labour is the order of the day, and everyone is looking for the precious mineral to survive.

This work is draining and stressful but there is no choice because I hope to return to school on account of proceeds from gold panning. 

It is so tough that I can go for a month without getting anything meaningful. The highest amount I have ever earned for a single sale of gold is $100,” said Joseph, who dropped out of school last year and hopes to raise enough money to return  to school.

“I am fully aware of all the dangers associated with mining gold, but it is my responsibility to raise school fees. Violence and alcoholism are rife in this place, but one has to find ways of surviving and groups of people to stick with. I also need books and uniforms and I can only raise the money if I come here every day,” he added.

District Lifelong Learning Coordinator (DLLLC) in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Nkayi District), Mr Phillip Dumisani Dlamini  asserted that poverty and unsustainable farming practices in the district are the main reason fuelling child marriages in the district.

“Poverty is the main reason behind early marriages in Nkayi rural areas as most homes have large family sizes. In such cases, most parents are unable or unwilling to take care of their children in terms of food and education hence they give away young girls to older men for marriage to sustain themselves and/or to lift the burden off their shoulders.” said Dlamini.

” Sometimes the children are left with no choice but to opt for early marriages, child labour and gold panning because of the low standards of living in homes. 

Most children get pregnant while they are still in school. They engage in sexual activities with older men to secure a few financial favours from them and the parents usually ignore these issues. Parents then demand lobola (bride price) without no regard for the child’s future,” the coordinator explained.

A 17year old and mother of one who refused to be named, shared her story on how she got married.

“My family is very poor, and my father had to look after the three of us after my mother’s demise. Things got worse after my mother’s death. Unfortunately, I got pregnant and had to drop out of school. The man who sired my child offered to take care of me, my father agreed, and the rest is history,” she said.

Parents in Nkayi face a mammoth task to keep their children in school in the face of economic pressures bedevilling most families. Yet another generation risks being lost with very little hope of discovery as school dropouts continue to increase.