Mr Nkosilomusa Khumalo
JOHN TALLACH HIGH SCHOOL.
THE institution has continued over the past year to try to bring a positive impact on the growth of the Gospel of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ among children, parents, employees, and the community at large associated with it. The Bible Knowledge Department looks after spiritual affairs. As
opposed to last year, the Department is now fully staffed.
Bible Knowledge Department
The Lord is indeed blessing the endeavours to positively impact the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ among learners. This is shown by a number of former learners who are now adherents and members in full communion, especially in the Bulawayo congregation. Learners in Form 1 study the books of Genesis chapters 1-50 and Exodus chapters 1-20. This helps them comprehend God both as a Creator and a Saviour. The appreciation of the God of the Bible is no longer there for children who have attended primary schools outside the Mission; this therefore dispels the growing notions of atheism and Evolution amongst learners. The Shorter Catechism continues to form our foundational teaching for Forms 1-4, and the Westminster Confession of Faith for Advanced Level pupils.
In addition, Scripture and Catechism Exercises 1-3 per section are done, school Bible Reading tests are written each term, and Prizes awarded. These prizes are courtesy of the Calvin Middleton Fund, which has greatly helped to support the Gospel work in the school. Some Bible Knowledge prizes are sponsored by the Responsible Authority (the Church).
Members of the Bible Knowledge department are Mr B Ncube, Mr O Moyo, Mr N Khumalo, Mrs M Khumalo and Mr K Dube. These members carry out timetabled lessons in the mainstream, mid-week Bible Study Group and Sabbath school lessons. There are occasional Psalmody sessions in the evenings to teach Psalm singing.
Enrolment
Enrolment figures in the post-Covid period are a bit lower, as expected, due to stringent spacing conditions. This affects the boarding school dormitories more. Moreover, the recent outlawing of bunk beds by the Education Ministry makes the situation worse.
Teaching and Ancillary Staff
We have a Teaching staff complement of 36 teachers: 17 ladies, and 19 gentlemen. The Government pays for most of the teachers. Two are under the SDC (School Development Council), and the other two teach Bible Knowledge and are paid by the Church. One of the ladies is a Specialist Visually Handicapped teacher. This is a team of well-qualified teachers who also exhibit high levels of professionalism. Staff turnover is negligible. As for the Ancillary staff, there are 14 members. They include the Bursar/Accountant, Accounts Clerk (who assists the bursar), Clerk (secretary), Librarian, Laboratory Technician, Driver, Boarding Master, Matron, and School Nurse.
Accommodation
In the recent past, new subjects have been introduced in the curriculum, in both Ordinary and Advanced Levels. This necessitated employing new teachers with the required skills. In addition, the school dining hall is managed by two cooks from a private company, Tsebo Zimbabwe, who are accommodated in the premises. Staff numbers have increased. This has therefore had a direct impact on accommodation, thereby forcing the school to use Mission guest houses. During communion services, it is now difficult to accommodate visitors. Moreover, the same challenge arises when we have Mission visitors. This calls for an improvement in the quest to accommodate visitors.
Examination Results
The 2025 Advanced and Ordinary Level local public examination results came out a bit early this time, on 9th and 16th January, respectively. The Advanced Level Results were pleasing, with the pass rate maintained at 100%. The O-Level pass rate was 98.4%, which marked a minimal decrease of 0.4% from the previous year, where the school scored 98.8%. Cambridge International Examinations were also sat. Parents continued to face financial challenges because of the state of the economy, as reflected by patterns in the fee payments. Some of them, as is usually the case, managed to sacrifice and commit towards registering their children for the Cambridge Examinations.
“O” Level CIE Results (Cambridge International Examinations)
The JFMC (Jewish and Foreign Missions Committee) pays for Cambridge Religious Studies examination registration for all Ordinary Level candidates. ZIMSEC (the local Examination Board) continues to offer a syllabus not based on Scripture, and which is therefore not in agreement with Reformed
teachings.
This gesture of paying for Cambridge registration allows the school to teach text-based Bible Knowledge – the gesture is appreciated, as it helps us teach Scripture-oriented Religious Studies, and our students have shown a great interest in the subject.
Religious Studies: No of candidates: 126, Pass rate: 91.3%.
Of particular note was the increase in learners who registered for the subject. This was due to decreased international migration of parents with their children.
Finance
2025 provided stability to the financial year. The school traded within budget. Savings were realised due to stability in the exchange rate and parents making more USD (US dollar) deposits than in the previous year. The average termly fees are US$690 for boarding and US$276 for day scholars. The church pays a $30 subsidy for each day scholar enrolled from the local school. The school Bursar, Deputy Head and School Development Committee (SDC) treasurer guard against overspending.
Visitors
We were pleased to host a number of overseas visitors in 2025. From the Netherlands, it was a team led by Mr Barth. They spent a few days at Ingwenya Mission viewing the progress at both the Primary and High schools. The Mission Deputies from the home Church in Scotland, Rev J B Jardine and Dr R J Dickie, also visited and were accommodated at Ingwenya. They also were pleased with the work done at Ingwenya.
Maintenance and Developments
The service provider for the Ingwenya Mission is John Tallach High School. A Maintenance Committee oversees the daily needs of both schools and mission houses. The members are Mr N Khumalo (Acting Deputy-Head), Mr F Ndlovu (Bursar/Accountant), Mr O Moyo (Boarding Master and Storeman), Mr B M Sibanda, Mrs P Nyoni and Mr M Kawara. There is a separate Projects Committee which oversees the implementation of projects. The members are Mr B Ncube (Headmaster), Mr N Khumalo (Acting Deputy-Head), Mr F Ndlovu (Bursar/Accountant), and Mr O Moyo (Boarding Master and Storeman).
The Primary School head teacher’s house was completed and was officially commissioned by Rev Jardine and Dr Dickie. The construction of the new Library was started at John Tallach, though halted by the shortage of cement and filler at structure boxing level (just above the foundation). It is the same with John Tallach High School Boys’ ablution facilities. To cater for more members of staff in the primary school, a project to extend one of the cottages was started and is near completion. The Bible Knowledge Classroom had its roof changed from asbestos to zinc. A tractor was also bought for the Mission to reduce maintenance costs in cutting grass, and help both the Primary and High School in their Agriculture projects.
Two 50kVA generators are still working. They are used during frequent power outages in the Mission. A smart meter was installed in the Mission to assist in the reduction of the electricity bill. Solar panels power houses for Mission residents, and all boreholes are solarized save for one, which is outside the Mission field.
Security
The Mission has a complement of six permanent guards: four night guards (one pair on duty every fortnight), and two day ones (1 gateman on duty at a time). They all received professional training. Two temporary guards are hired every school holiday to provide extra security to the premises. There are also guard dogs.
Transport
There is a total of 7 vehicles owned by the school and 1 tractor owned by the Mission. The school head and deputy use two vehicles dedicated to them, the other small vehicle is mainly for ferrying sick students to the clinic, among other small duties, a 7-ton truck for boarding school weekly orders, a 10-ton truck and three buses (two 75-seaters and one 38-seater). Local drivers are hired as needed when two or more vehicles are to be used at a time.
Conclusion
The school’s main thrust of creating a Reformed teaching environment has been maintained. This refers to Christian and general discipline among students, teachers and ancillary staff in the Mission. This has all been because of abounding Providence. We are indeed thankful to the home Church, the JFMC and Mbuma-Zending for the deep interest in the work of the Mission at Ingwenya. Thus we sing with the Psalmist, as we endeavour to keep the light of the Gospel of Christ as our torch in this institution, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps 119:105)