The Sunday Mail
St Francis Xavier’s Kutama College in Zvimba will celebrate its 100th anniversary on March 21 with the school’s most famous son, President Mugabe, billed as the guest of honour.
The celebrations will coincide with commemorations to mark 75 years of the presence of the Marist Brothers at Kutama College.
In a statement, the school said over 6 500 guests – mainly former students and their families – are expected to attend.
President Mugabe is the Patron of Kutama Old Boys Association (Koba).
“The day will be punctuated with a number of activities like an Educational Expo, Business Expo and then entertainment by various musical artistes and other exciting activities to appeal to many generations that have passed through Kutama over the last century,” reads part of the statement.
The mission rose to prominence in the early 20th century, becoming a nationally-recognised centre for spiritual and academic development.
The college was founded by Jesuit priest Father John Loubiere.
Its initial thrust was evangelism, but Fr Loubiere shifted to primary education after realising that the community required educational development apart from the spiritual.
By 1926, the Jesuits Priests had established a two-year Teacher Training Course for primary school teachers.
Father Jerome O’Hea, who subsequently had the mission hospital named after him, came in 1931 and assisted in running the mission.
Bishop A Chichester – another Jesuit Priest – invited the Marist Brothers from Canada to take over the educational component.
The mission introduced the Junior Certificate course in 1946, and in 1949 the first Higher Primary Teacher Training (PTT) in this country was introduced at Kutama. The Matriculation Course followed in 1950.
In 1957, the Marist Brothers introduced the Rhodesia Junior Certificate and ‘O’ Level Cambridge courses.
In 1985, Sixth form studies with a bias towards science subjects became well-established.
The school temporarily moved to Harare between 1978 and 1979 during the liberation struggle, and re-opened at its original site in 1980.
Over 100 000 students have passed through the gates of Kutama College.
