Zimbabwean
Written by Fungi Kwaramba
Friday, 18 March 2011
HARARE – The ministry of Education, Art, Sport and Culture will soon establish night schools to reduce the debilitating effects of more than a decade of decay in the education sector precipitated by President Robert Mugabe’s ruinous policies.
Speaking last week at an electricity commissioning programme at Westlea Primary School, Education Minister David Coltart said his ministry had successfully equipped schools with books and was now turning its attention to the electrification of schools.
“We have realised that it is essential to establish night schools so that people who dropped out of school can go back and at least get basic education that will enable them to fend for themselves,†said Coltart.
Hundreds of thousands dropped out of school before the inception of the Government of National Unity (GNU) as parents battled to pay school fees in the face of unprecedented hyperinflation and economic meltdown, and thousands of teachers left the country to escape poverty and political persecution by Zanu (PF) militias and state agents. Coltart is determined to reintroduce night schools that were once popular in the 80s and 90s.
Many teachers have now returned and Coltart has promised that they will be paid for teaching extra lessons.
“We have secured funding from donors for the night school programme. Teachers will be paid with the funds that we secured recently,†he said.
The night schools are expected to equip people with the necessary basic education in line of the government commitment to education so as to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Coltart also urged schools not only to concentrate on education but also other core values of the ministry such as sports and art.
“If we become narrowly focused on education alone we will not wholly benefit the student. Sport is business and parents should encourage students to consider sport and art,†said Coltart.
Harare West legislator Jessie Majome, who used her ConstituencyDevelopment Fund (CDF) to electrify the school, said the provision of electricity was critical for all schools in the country.