Rimbi High School is reaping where it sowed. Last Friday saw a large haul of Tilapia fish from a pond at the school in Chipinge, with 250 kilogrammes of fish being sold to the public in a matter of two hours as learners and visiting heads applauded the initiative taken to start an income generating project.

In the early 80s, Education with Production (EWP) was the buzzword and previously marginalised subjects like Agriculture, Woodwork, Building Studies, Metalwork and Fashion and Fabrics came to the fore as core subjects with some schools relying on the school garden for nutrition and having their furniture made by the corresponding departments.

At that time, no one took productivity in schools seriously, but with the advent of National Development Strategy 1, schools are called upon to be economic hubs.

The message to schools is not to continue to moan yet they have the capacity to empower themselves through various projects to earn income to fund various needs.

With the Competence-Based Curriculum fronted by the Nziramasanga Commission driving the education system, schools have become expert business units as they seek to run away from over-dependence on Government.

One way is to engage in fish farming and the Rimbi High School Agriculture and Science Departments took the initiative by the scruff of the neck.

These business units will also allow schools administrators to use the profits they get to pay school fees and buy uniforms and stationery for students who come from impoverished families.

Rimbi High school head, Mrs Regina Macheke said that teachers in the Agriculture and Science departments proposed the fish farming project.

She said: “Mr Mpumelelo Mhlanga, the A’ Level Animal Science teacher, approached me some time last year and asked me to approve a fish project; I gave him the green light. Teachers in his department supervised the digging of the fish pond. We got technical help from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and Plan International and here we are.’’

Students have been the leading lights in fish farming as they practice what they are taught on a day-to-day basis at the school which has an enrolment of 1 310 students and boasts a teacher complement of 47.

An Animal Science learner, Prince Malati (20), narrated how the students worked round the clock from February to date and he was grateful that the harvesting had been well received by the community although some students had never practiced any form of agriculture.

“Before we undertook fish farming, our Animal Science group and the Form 3 Blue which is mainly Science-oriented, were taken through the paces on fish farming by our teachers.

“Later, we dug the fish pond pit and prepared for the building of the pond which would act as a habitat for our fish. It was really exciting as we went about as the pioneer students in fish farming at Rimbi High School,’’ he said.

Mrs Ivy Chitambo, from the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, mentored the staff and learners on entrepreneurship for the fish enterprise to garner profit for the school which would eventually be ploughed back into the school for social responsibility programmes which would benefit those students from marginalised households.

Another learner Precious Majede, in her presentation, said that they had learnt a lot about the roles of workers in a thriving fish farming venture. She said her colleagues and herself owed the school in managing business.

“We had a routine between 9am and 3.30pm every day and all of us had to budget time to make sure that the fish were not neglected. Thus, we had a daily management programme where groups of learners would apportion a time slot for cleaning pond water by removing the litter or leaves, checking fish activity, remove dead fish, weeding the banks, siphoning water, replenishing the pool with fresh water and other incidental jobs which made the fish comfortable and safe. It was a collective responsibility and it necessitated working beyond school hours for us to have a very good product such as the one you see today,’’ she said.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has a policy of empowering the schools through business units which should mentor students for them not to crave to be employers in their own right. Mr Arlington Nhamo, who is in charge of Non-Formal Education in Chipinge, said schools should have a minimum of one project per year if they are to be considered as institutions which follow policy.

“The Competence-Based Curriculum dwells on the practical side. Theory should be complemented with practical aspects. School Development Committees must have an income generating activity at least once a year. Children ought to have an entrepreneurial spirit.

“The IGA (Income Generating Activity) comes into play when the issue of indigent children crops up and the school can pay fees for those children who can hardly cope with financial challenges. Children are involved in choosing the beneficiaries of the social responsibility programme in the wake of a project like this one,’’ said Mr Nhamo.

Mr Mpumelelo Mhlanga is the teacher in charge of the project. He appreciated the role of the Government and its development partners in the formative period of the project.

He said: “We stocked 3 000 fingerlings on 24 March 2021. We are indebted to the ministry for facilitating workshops which culminated in the development partner, Plan International, supplying us with the dam liner, fingerlings, fish feeds, and the net and fencing material.’’

Tilapia farming originated in the Middle East and Africa and is very profitable.

The district schools inspector, Mr Richard Gabaza, attended the harvesting and was full of praise for the commercial venture which he classified as one of its kind in the district. He urged other schools to follow in Rimbi High School’s footsteps.

“It is a great occasion for the ministry. It will transform the school. It is a response to the ministry’s policies with respect of commercialisation. We want every school to follow this wonderful deed. This is a productive unit within the school.

“The head has responded well to the clarion call by the ministry for schools to have productive units. I call upon other schools in the district and the country at large to follow the example set by Rimbi High School,’’ he said.

After the harvesting, 250kg of fish was the end product and the school intends to restock but not before it has done its social responsibility.

“We harvested 250 kilogrammes. After selling the fish, we intend to identify two students. We want to pay their school fees, uniforms and stationery as part of our social responsibility programme,’’ Mrs Macheke said.

One of the students, Andrew Makaya, said he would like to venture into fish farming once he leaves school, funds permitting.

“With the knowledge I have garnered over the course of six months, I think I can begin my own fish project; I wish to provide employment and proteins to the people in my home village,’’ he said.