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Unseen Backyard Classrooms and Child Safeguarding in Zimbabwean Urban Areas

Edmore Chingwe 1 * ,
Christopher Mutseekwa 2,
Nyasha Cefas Zimuto 3,
Enock Panganayi Mawuye 1
1 Rwanda Basic Education Board, RWANDA2 University of Rwanda College of Education Laboratory School, RWANDA 3 University of Rwanda, Centre for Language Enhancement, RWANDA* Corresponding Author
Educational Point, 3(1), 2026, e159, https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/18783
Publication date: Jun 19, 2026
Research Article
Open Access Open Access
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ABSTRACT

The mushrooming of non-formal home-based schools (NFHBSs), which people call extra lessons, operates as an unregulated yet significant educational system in Zimbabwean urban areas. Informal learning environments exist to help students who need extra academic support because people face economic difficulties and want better education results, and formal educational systems have their own limitations. While these services fulfil community educational needs, their informal nature and decentralised structure, together with a lack of government supervision, create a vacuum with significant safeguarding vulnerabilities for children. This study uses a qualitative grounded theory design to examine how NFHBSs operate in Masvingo, Rusape, and Plumtree. Results show that while Zimbabwe has robust non-formal education and safeguarding policies, these policies may fail to regulate NFHBSs, resulting in exposure of students to several vulnerabilities. To remedy this situation, the study proposes a tiered safeguarding framework.

KEYWORDS

safeguarding non-formal home-based schools ubuntu results-safety paradox ecological systems theory

CITATION (APA)

Chingwe, E., Mutseekwa, C., Zimuto, N. C., & Mawuye, E. P. (2026). Unseen Backyard Classrooms and Child Safeguarding in Zimbabwean Urban Areas. Educational Point, 3(1), e159. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/18783
Harvard
Chingwe, E., Mutseekwa, C., Zimuto, N. C., and Mawuye, E. P. (2026). Unseen Backyard Classrooms and Child Safeguarding in Zimbabwean Urban Areas. Educational Point, 3(1), e159. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/18783
Vancouver
Chingwe E, Mutseekwa C, Zimuto NC, Mawuye EP. Unseen Backyard Classrooms and Child Safeguarding in Zimbabwean Urban Areas. Educational Point. 2026;3(1):e159. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/18783
AMA
Chingwe E, Mutseekwa C, Zimuto NC, Mawuye EP. Unseen Backyard Classrooms and Child Safeguarding in Zimbabwean Urban Areas. Educational Point. 2026;3(1), e159. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/18783
Chicago
Chingwe, Edmore, Christopher Mutseekwa, Nyasha Cefas Zimuto, and Enock Panganayi Mawuye. "Unseen Backyard Classrooms and Child Safeguarding in Zimbabwean Urban Areas". Educational Point 2026 3 no. 1 (2026): e159. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/18783
MLA
Chingwe, Edmore et al. "Unseen Backyard Classrooms and Child Safeguarding in Zimbabwean Urban Areas". Educational Point, vol. 3, no. 1, 2026, e159. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/18783

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