St. Peter's Kubatana
| St. Peter's Kubatana | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| High Glen Rd., Glen Norah, Harare, Zimbabwe | |
| Information | |
| Type | Jesuit, Catholic |
| Established | 1963 |
| Director | Mr. Wushe (technical school) |
| Principal | Br. Dominic Shoniwa, SJ |
| Headmaster | Mr. Makimeke |
| Enrollment | 1,051 |
| Tuition | US $150 per term |
| Website | AJOL |
St. Peter's Kubatana in Glen Norah, Zimbabwe, includes both a secondary school and technical vocational training. It is situated in a high-density suburb of Harare, and was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1963.
In 1963 the Jesuit parish in the present Mbare area of Harare opened St. Peter’s Community Secondary School (SPCSS) for students engulfed in poverty. At the time secondary schools were provided for only the top 12% of primary leavers. SPCSS enrolled 80 students out of 250 applicants, for a two-year course leading to the External Junior Certificate. It used the St. Peter’s Primary School classrooms after the primary students finished their day.
A training school for social workers, the School of Social Service, began operations in the Jesuit parish in the mid-1960s. It later became the School of Social Work (SSW), a degree-awarding department of the University of Zimbabwe. The first premises of SSW were the defunct Morgan High School, and SPCSS was for a time accommodated there also. But this was found to be against the apartheid policy of the government, since SSW was mixed racial and SPCSS all-black. A closed primary school facility in the new Kambazuma township was made available for SPCSS. In the mid-1960s local volunteers were joined by volunteers from Stonyhurst College in England, who were taking a year off for service before going to the university, to work in these Jesuit schools. In 1968 technical courses were introduced to SPCSS by a Stonyhurst engineering student, and this focus has persisted in the technical school. The high school was to grow to 1051 students and cover through sixth-form.
In the 1970s Kambuzuma’s population was growing and the primary school buildings were reclaimed for their original purpose. The secondary school was resituated on a 10-hectare site in Glen Norah, Harare, and SPCSS took its present name St. Peter’s Kubatana, Kubatana being a Shona word encompassing notions of mutual help and co-operation. Facilities include an administration block and Jesuit residence.
St. Peters Mbare parish helps support orphaned and vulnerable children. A scholarship fund has been set up to subsidize the fees for 85 primary and secondary school children.
St. Peter's Kubatana Training Centre in Highfield, Harare, has launched an arts and culture programme and helps students to pursue arts as a career. It also assists local artists with further training and offers space for work and for exhibitions. The technical school at St. Peter’s Kubatanahas has expanded to include welding, sewing, motor mechanics, automobile and mechanical engineering, construction and civil engineering, and woodworking. Technical school graduates have risen to 120 in a year. St. Peter's is also a part of a UN effort to strengthen vocational and technical education in Zimbabwe.
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