Zimbabwe Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture

27 January 2012

Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart capitalized on his time while hosting the African Brains ICT For Education Summit 2012 to visit Chinotimba Primary School, where he presented to the headmaster materials for Early Childhood Development and Mosi-oa-Tunya High School in Victoria Falls. Senator Coltart was accompanied by representatives from Intel who, during his visit and presentation to Mosi-oa-Tunya, donated desktop computers among boxes of educational supplies.

While speaking to teachers, parents and students at the secondary school, Senator Coltart took time to discuss the ongoing public service strike, notably the first serious work stoppage by government employees since the inclusive government came to power three years ago.

“I’m saddened that today while here in Victoria Falls, I find the schools are closed, albeit temporarily.  I am very sympathetic to the plight of our teachers and especially our children who are ultimately affected by the strike.

The reality of the situation is that there is no easy solution. When President Mugabe was a teacher years ago, the title had respect and everyone aspired to earn it. Unfortunately as a nation, we have today lost that respect. As I look down these empty halls, it is disheartening to think about how our ongoing work is being hampered, as is the educational process for the greatest casualty in all of this – our pupils.

We as a Ministry have made great strides — exam papers were marked with scores here at Mosi-oa-Tunya indicating a grade increase of 20%. Secondary school textbooks are being delivered countrywide and every single child from forms one through four will have his or her own textbook. However, as I’ve said before, all of that means little when those who foster the talent of tomorrow are not in their classroom at work.”

Though Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZTA) chief executive Sifiso Ndlovu, yesterday insisted the public service strike was still on, Zimbabweans have historically demonstrated a dedication to education for their children – as he concluded his remarks this afternoon, Senator Coltart called for an efficient resolution of the strike in order to perpetuate and spotlight this commitment.

Hon David Coltart – Minister of Education, Sport, Arts & Culture

Opening speech at The Southern African ICT for Education Summit, Elephant Hills Resort, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 26th-27th January 2012.

http://www.africanbrains.net/video/hon-david-coltart-minister-of-education-sport-arts-culture-zimbabwe-opens-icte-summit-2012/

Southern African ICT for Education Summit, Victoria Falls

By David Coltart

26 January 2012

It is my distinct honour to welcome you all to the ICT for Education Conference today. I am delighted that you have all joined us in Victoria Falls.

The genesis of the Conference occurred in Morocco last year when I attended another conference organised by AfricanBrains which some of you attended. I invited John Glassey to consider holding a conference in Victoria Falls. John immediately took up the idea and I am grateful to him and his team for having confidence in my Ministry and Zimbabwe.

This is a very important conference for us in Zimbabwe. Aside from the educational benefit it has a broader national benefit. Zimbabwe has been through a turbulent period for almost a decade and a half, with political turmoil, hyperinflation and near collapse of the country. In 2008 the three parties who won seats in the March 2008 election agreed to a peaceful process of transition brokered by SADC.

Many, especially in the West, were deeply sceptical about this arrangement and have been reluctant to engage. My view has always been that as fragile and imperfect as this process is it remains the only non-violent method we have as a Nation of resolving our differences.

I am so grateful to AfricanBrains, all our fellow African Ministers and indeed the wide range of international companies who have come to Zimbabwe. Your presence is in fact support for this peaceful process.

The Zimbabwe Education sector itself was not left unscathed by this political turmoil and hyperinflation.

Zimbabwe has been recognised historically as having one of the best education systems in Africa. One of the outstanding post-independence accomplishments was the rapid expansion of Zimbabwe’s education system so that all Zimbabwe’s children enjoyed a good education. Successive colonial governments had imposed a series of bottlenecks to restrict the number of black Zimbabweans who could get a quality and complete education. Not just a quantitative leap, but a qualitative leap was achieved. By the early 1990s Zimbabwe was producing tens of thousands of high quality graduates who have since played a leading role in Zimbabwe and indeed South Africa, Botswana, the UK, Australia and many other countries.

However, our system all but collapsed in the last decade. When I took over in February 2009, 8000 schools were closed and 90,000 teachers were on strike. The pupil to textbook ratios were 15:1 at best, and 20,000 teachers had been lost from the profession in 2007-2008. Exam papers written the previous November had not even been marked. There was a collapse of infrastructure across the sector.

From an ICT perspective our EMIS system had collapsed. Our last reliable data was produced in 2006. When I arrived in my office it didn’t even have a computer in it. Our headquarters had no functioning internet.

In the last three years we have focused on stabilising the education sector. Schools are now open. We have developed a good rapport with teachers. Whilst there is still a problem with salaries, which are woefully inadequate, our relations have improved. In September 2009 I launched the Education Transition Fund with UNICEF. Since then we have supplied some 13 million textbooks and pupil to textbook ratios are now 1:1.

A key element of the work has been to consult partners regarding the way forward. That culminated in an interim strategic plan which was passed by Cabinet in September 2010 for 2011 which has now been developed into a five year plan, which will soon be presented to Cabinet.

Key elements of this concern our plans for ICT in Education. The one benefit of the years of underfunding is that we now have an opportunity to leapfrog technology. There are four principal areas in which we plan to do this.

Firstly, we have agreed with UNICEF and UNESCO that a key aspect of the ETF Phase 2 will be the revamping of EMIS for all of our 8000 schools, 73 Administrative Districts and 10 Provinces.  We need to develop an ICT system which can efficiently collect and disseminate data.

Secondly, we are planning an extensive programme of curriculum review and reform. The Zimbabwean curriculum was last comprehensively reviewed in 1986. We then had a state of the art Curriculum Development Unit in Mount Pleasant, Harare. Now, the CDU has all but collapsed. We need to renovate the CDU and supply it with hardware and software. We need to integrate ICT into the new curriculum and take advantage of podcast technology. We particularly need to invest in rural schools, which often have no electricity or internet connection, to ensure they can use a new ICT orientated curriculum.

Thirdly, most schools have no computers whatsoever and this is a massive need we must address. In this regard we have a particular need to equip advanced computer laboratories at the Academies we intend establishing for talented disadvantaged children.

Finally, we need professional development to enable teachers to use ICT technology themselves and to be properly trained to teach ICT.

So this Conference comes at an opportune moment for us. But I think that the regional nature of the Conference is also important. I increasingly think of Southern Africa as a unit, rather than just Zimbabwe in isolation. If we cooperate more and exploit the synergies which exist in the region we can improve the education sector across the entire region.

For example, yesterday I attended a school – Chinotinba Primary – where a minority of the students speak Tonga as their mother tongue. This is a minority language in Zimbabwe; however, just across the river there is a mirrored community in Zambia, where Tonga is widely spoken. Our vision is to ultimately make Tonga examinable to A Level, and I have no doubt that if we were to co-operate with our Zambian colleagues that would be easier to achieve. I also know that if we employ new Computer Technologies we can develop joint ICT based teaching materials cheaper and more easily. It is appropriate that the Honourable Minister Phiri, Minister of Education of Zambia is jointly opening this conference with me. I am hoping that this conference will explore these opportunities to co-operate throughout Southern Africa.

Finally, in thanking you for your attendance allow me to draw you back to Zimbabwe and to speak specifically to the companies present. For all the turmoil we have been through, Zimbabwe remains one of the most exciting investment opportunities in Africa. In the 1950s we had an economy bigger than that of Singapore. It used to be the second largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a country that still has enormous potential – we have a highly literate and hardworking population, massive natural resources, a wonderful climate, beautiful tourist resorts – and a fine educational structure. With political stability Zimbabwe is going to boom and I encourage you to join us as we turn Zimbabwe into the jewel of Africa.

The Times of India

25 January 2012

Zimbabwe sports minister David Coltart has once again urged England to revive cricket ties with the southern African nation.

Coltart’s lobbying efforts have managed to sway Australia and New Zealand to tour the country following years of boycotts on political grounds, but the British government prohibits England to host or visit Zimbabwe.

England last hosted and visited Zimbabwe in 2004 but played its team in 2007 at the Twenty20 World Tournament.

Earlier this month, Coltart met with British foreign secretary William Hague in London during the World Education Forum and the pair briefly discussed re-establishing cricket ties.

“It went well. I proposed dialogue between the two countries and he said they will consider it,” Coltart said. “He said they have taken into account what I said. He didn’t give any undertaking but he wasn’t negative.”

Coltart is a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change party that forced Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party into a coalition government after the disputed 2008 elections.

He has previously defended his lobbying efforts, saying the coalition government has addressed some of the concerns that brought the imposition of the sporting sanctions.

“Tours of that nature bind relations and reconcile nations,” Coltart said. “Tours do not benefit a single party. They benefit the entire nation. They also help our cricket. A good example is that the tour by Australia ‘A’ and New Zealand last year lifted morale and helped raise the standard of our game.

“The trouble with playing England is that in the foreseeable future on the ICC calendar, England are only scheduled to play Zimbabwe in about 2016. There doesn’t seem to be a reasonable scheduled timeframe by the ICC. We offered New Zealand and Australia a unique opportunity to play this past winter because of the fact that unlike in other southern hemisphere countries, we can play cricket during our winter.”

Corporate Foreign Policy

By Sam Amsterdam 

25 January 2012

Zimbabwe Minister of Education David Coltart is unequivocally on a mission. And his mission is particularly unique here in Zim – it is supported on both (if not more) sides of the proverbial aisle.

It is common knowledge that education is a pillar of infrastructural stability, allowing a nation and its respective citizenry to develop and thrive. Education turns aspiration to talent, fosters it and allows it to give back through implementing an acquired skill at home, ultimately equating to a nation sustainably developing.

Yet after the turmoil of 2008, one would have all but written off the former breadbasket of Africa regarding its developmental potential. David Coltart is out to prove those naysayers wrong.

Aside from an unprecedented 15 million textbook initiative brought about with support of UNICEF to Zimbabwe’s students, allowing the ratio of student to textbook to hit 1:1, he champions the push to increase teacher salaries at the incremental level. This applies to a specific funding initiative for those working in remote areas of Zimbabwe, understanding that talent doesn’t necessary only reside in Harare, Bulawayo, Hwange or Victoria Falls and that one should honor their sacrifice to work in remote areas.

With regard to sport, it is understood to have a particularly profound ‘binding’ effect on a populous and to further promote pride and lure back those who seek greener pastures overseas, the Minister aims to return test cricket (particularly England v. Zim at home), soccer and rugby in full to the nation.

Minister Coltart will be speaking over the course of the next few days at the African Brains summit in Victoria Falls. We will be reporting live from the scene, as the event undoubtedly will shine a spotlight on a continent abundant with opportunity (7 out of the top 10 countries projected to grow significantly this year are in Africa) and even more so on a generation that will turn opportunity in to tangible progression.

Sport24

24 January 2012

Harare – Zimbabwe Sports Minister David Coltart has once again urged England to revive cricket ties with the southern African nation.

Coltart’s lobbying efforts have managed to sway Australia and New Zealand to tour the country following years of boycotts on political grounds, but the British government prohibits England to host or visit Zimbabwe.

England last hosted and visited Zimbabwe in 2004 but played its team in 2007 at the Twenty20 World tournament.

Earlier this month, Coltart met with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in London during the World Education Forum and the pair briefly discussed re-establishing cricket ties.

“It went well. I proposed dialogue between the two countries and he said they will consider it,” Coltart told The Associated Press. “He said they have taken into account what I said. He didn’t give any undertaking but he wasn’t negative.”

Coltart is a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change party that forced Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party into a coalition government after the disputed 2008 elections.

He has previously defended his lobbying efforts, saying the coalition government has addressed some of the concerns that brought the imposition of the sporting sanctions.

“Tours of that stature bind relations and reconcile nations,” Coltart said. “Tours do not benefit a single part. They benefit the entire nation. They also help our cricket. A good example is that the tour by Australia ‘A’ and New Zealand last year lifted morale and helped raise the standard of our game.

“The trouble with England is that in the foreseeable future on the ICC calendar, England are scheduled to play Zimbabwe in some ridiculous time. There doesn’t seem to be a scheduled timeframe by the ICC. New Zealand and Australia offer a unique opportunity because of the fact that other than other southern hemisphere countries, we can play our cricket during our winter.”

NewsDay

By Tatenda Chitagu

23 January 2012

Five teachers at the Apostolic Faith Mission-run Rufaro High School in Chatsworth, Gutu, have taken Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart to court over what they termed forced transfers from the mission school.

In papers filed at the Labour Court, Masvingo provincial education director, Clara Dube, is cited as the first respondent, education permanent secretary Stephen Mahere as second respondent and Coltart as third respondent.

The five — Constan Tandi, Simbarashe Chigumira, Muneyi Muneyi, Augustine Mushipe and Albert Munyoro, whose ages were not given — want the matter dealt with urgently.

They are being represented by Rogers Matsikidze. The case is set to be heard on January 30 in Gweru.

In their application, the teachers alleged that their transfer was meant to cow them after they allegedly accused the school and church officials of corruption. They also accused government of conniving with the church officials.

The teachers were forcibly removed from the school by AFM director of education Constantine Murefu for allegedly boycotting a prize giving ceremony and holding an unsanctioned meeting at the school last year.

Part of Murefu’s letter reads: “You boycotted a speech and prize-giving day and stormed out of the annual general meeting (AGM) last year and you held an unauthorised meeting soon after the AGM.

“You are therefore asked to vacate Rufaro School immediately”.

But in their notice of appeal, the teachers alleged the school’s disciplinary authority “erred in finding them guilty of boycotting the speech and prize- giving day when the matter was res judicata” (a matter already judged).

They also argued they were found guilty of walking out of the AGM when the matter “borders on de minimus (not enough to be considered) and was in complete disregard to the circumstances surrounding the meeting.”

The appellants also argued their transfer “was pre-meditated” and instructing them to leave the school within three days from the issuance of the order was insensitive.

The Zimbabwean

By Chris Ncube

23 January 2012

Education, Sports and Culture Minister, David Coltart, who raises concern at the lack of access to education by children that were victims of the widely-condemned Murambatsvina, says the new strategic plan he will soon present to Cabinet will aim to tackle the problem.

Human rights groups have recently highlighted the plight of such children saying these had failed to access education after government forcefully removed them from where they stayed but failed to build schools where they ‘resettled’ them.

Among such organizations that have raised concern at the challenges facing the minors is Amnesty international.

Coltart told The Zimbabwean he had received a general letter from the human rights organization.

“I am deeply concerned about the plight of these children and Education Transition Fund Phase 2 is very much focused on these issues. Sadly, because of the extreme shortage, indeed virtual non-existence, of government funding, there is very little I can do in the short term to address these legitimate concerns,” he said.

“I will shortly be presenting our 5 year strategic plan to Cabinet which is designed to address these concerns and others. But that will need more than lip service to become effective.”

In 2005, an estimated 700 000 people lost their homes, their livelihoods or both as a result of the Zimbabwean government’s campaign of mass forced evictions and demolitions of homes and informal business structures.

The evictions and demolitions were carried out without adequate notice, court orders, or appropriate relocation measures, in violation of Zimbabwe’s obligations under international human rights law. During the evictions police and soldiers used excessive force while property was destroyed and people were beaten.

Most victims still live under deplorable conditions despite the government’s so-called Operation Garikai, which government claimed would provide housing to victims.

A 2010 study by the Solidarity Peace found that 28 per cent of Zimbabwe’s school going children suffered severe disruption (loss of more than a year of schooling). Half of these children (14 per cent) lost up to three years of education or dropped out of school permanently.