Sunday News
17 January 2010
Sunday News Reporters

SOME schools are reportedly turning away children for not paying school fees in contravention of a Government directive.

A survey conducted by the Sunday News around Bulawayo last week revealed that some children were loitering outside school premises while others were in class.
Parents and guardians said they were failing to raise the fees because they alleged school authorities were, in some cases, charging way above Government stipulated fees.

Early this month, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart announced that Government would not be increasing tuition fees.
He said this came after the realisation that most parents failed to pay fees last year.

Government last year proposed that primary schoolchildren pay US$5 while those at secondary were to pay US$10 per term.

Children attending primary schools in low-density suburbs are expected to pay US$10 while those at secondary level fork out US$20 per term.

Nkulumane Primary in Mpopoma is reportedly charging fees ranging between US$5 and US$45, amounts that have sparked anger among parents who are now confused as they are no longer sure of the correct amount.

“I was shocked to see my child returning in the morning from school on opening day telling me that she had to pay US$35 for fees yet last year we were paying US$5 which was gazetted by Government,’’ said one parent.

A concerned Mahatshula resident told this paper that he was driving to his home from the city centre when he saw a young boy in school uniform, walking alone along the railway line, sucking his fore finger.

“I was driving to my place at around 11am when I saw the boy walking alone crossing the railway line. He looked so vulnerable, sucking his tiny finger and what puzzled me was I could not see anyone accompanying him. I stopped my car and asked the boy where he was going alone. He told me he had been turned away from school. I thought to myself what calibre of teachers do we have in society if they can send a young boy home without any patron. If I was not a good man I would have kidnapped him,’’ he said.

Minister Coltart said the law and policy regarding fees had not changed.

“Let me restate the law, no school shall turn away pupils for failing to pay fees. That does not change,’’ he said.

Senator Coltart advised that parents should report to their respective provincial education directors, any schools that turned away students for failing to pay fees.
He, however, said the ministry would not take action against any school authority based on reports in the Press.

“Parents should report schools to the responsible authorities then the ministry can take action. At the moment I have not received any complaints as yet,’’ said the education minister.

Senator Coltart also urged parents to make sure that their children go to school because some skip school.

In a recent development, a school head who declined to be named for fear of victimisation, said his school had received a circular from the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) stating that teachers were not “happy’’ with the recent salary negotiations and the association was requesting teachers to be on go-slow.
However, ZIMTA president, Mrs Tendai Chikowore said the association never sent out such a circular.

“We did not issue out anything of the sort. Teachers will continue going to work until we get feedback from the Government,’’ she said.

The ZIMTA president said they would wait for the 14 days they agreed to with the Government, to elapse.

Mahatshula Primary School headmaster, Mr Mankani Moyo, said his school had not turned away children for not paying fees.

He said children have a habit of bunking school otherwise the school is teaching everyone.

“We have not even discussed the fee structure for the term. Normally we encourage parents to make arrangements with the school on how they would pay the fees,’’ said the school head.

The headmaster of Milton High, Mr Misheck Ngwenya, said the school had not turned away any students.

“Students are paying as they come, we allow them to pay in instalments,’’ he said. However, he encouraged parents to pay outstanding fees so that the school can operate. He said most parents and guardians could not afford to pay the required fees.

The deputy provincial education director for Bulawayo, Mr Reuben Ndlovu, said schools were told in a meeting held with their respective District Education Officers (DEOs) that they should abide by the Government directive.

Parents urged the ministry to urgently intervene in the matter to prevent a repetition of last year’s situation.

The Herald
By Felex Share
15 January 2010

Harare — Education, Sport, Art and Culture Minister David Coltart yesterday urged all concerned authorities in Government to put their heads together and urgently solve the salary dispute before the 14-day notice for industrial action given by civil servants expires.

This comes after negotiations between civil servants and their employer ended in a deadlock on Tuesday after Government rejected demands for a minimum salary of US$600 per month. Government said it was prepared to give the lowest paid worker US$122, while the highest paid employee gets US$236.

Housing and transport allowances are not included, prompting the civil servants to give their employer a 14-day ultimatum to meet their demands.

In an interview after meeting teachers’ unions yesterday, Minister Coltart said there was an urgent need for Government to solve civil servants’ grievances if the country’s economy was to continue recovering.

He urged all teachers to continue reporting for duty, assuring them he would be meeting Finance Minister Tendai Biti next Tuesday to deliberate on the matter.
The Minister pledged to take the matter to Cabinet next week and promised to meet teachers unions on January 26 for feedback, two days before the expiry of the ultimatum.

“Our economy has been showing great signs of recovery and if we don’t act swiftly, we will go back to zero. I am calling upon all my colleagues in Cabinet to put heads together for the development of the nation,” said Minister Coltart.

He challenged Government to act on its parastatals, which he said, were chewing up most of the civil servants’ and other workers’ salaries by charging astronomical rates and fees.

“Government must find a way of making these parastatals like Zesa, TelOne, city councils charge normal bills not what we are seeing at the moment. You find bills exceeding US$800 and where will that kind of money come from?” he said.

Minister Coltart reiterated that while he understood the plight of the teachers and the rest of the civil service, there was need for them to be patriotic for the benefit of the children, who were victims of the economic crisis.

“I urge the teachers to report for duty in the next weeks as we try by all means to work out a favourable plan for them. We know they have suffered for long and we will run around to solve this,” he said.

On payment of incentives to teachers by parents, Minister Coltart said while Government devised a method to scrap them, his Ministry would set up an Interim Policy Advisory Committee involving the teachers’ unions.

He said the committee would work with teams from his Ministry and parents to make sure guidelines were followed and the facility was not abused.
Teachers’ unions urged all their members to report for duty and confirmed they had a productive meeting with Minister Coltart.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Mr Raymond Majongwe, encouraged his members to take up classes at least for the stipulated two weeks.
“We are saying to our members we have suffered for too long, but let us just sacrifice for two weeks and wait and see what they will offer. If they fail to meet our demands then we would embark on a massive industrial action,” said Mr Majongwe.

A Zimta official echoed the same sentiments saying not reporting for duty before the ultimatum elapsed would be equal to predetermining Government’s response.

Zimbabwe Independent
Nqobile Bhebhe
15 January 2010

Faced with a critical shortage of lecturers at learning institutions, government is set to increase the retirement age of lecturers to 70 in a desperate bid to retain staff. Currently, the retirement age is pegged at 65.

A new five-year economic blueprint, the Medium Term Plan (MTP), indicates that the education sector is in distress and needs urgent revival.

Part of the policy measures to save the sector from collapse includes the scaling up of retirement age for lecturers.

The MTP reads: “Move the retirement age of lecturers to 70 years and involve retired lecturers on a flexi-time basis whenever they are required.”

Education is one of the sectors greatly affected by the brain drain as qualified personal have migrated to neighbouring countries in pursuit of greener pastures.

According to MTP, as of May last year the University of Zimbabwe had an establishment of 1 171 but only 385 posts were occupied leaving 786 vacancies while National University Of Science and Technology had a staff complement of 232 against 493 required.

Bindura, Lupane, Great Zimbabwe, Midlands State University and Harare Institute of Technology had a combined shortfall of 615 lecturers.

All polytechnics countrywide had a combined workforce of 1 043 workers against a requirement of 2 630 while teachers colleges had 803 staff but 1 348 where needed.

Apart from workers migrating, the document also attributes staff shortages to high HIV and Aids prevalence, deteriorating educational infrastructure and equipment at institutions, prohibitive distances, especially in newly resettled areas coupled with poor remuneration and working conditions.

Government has also set ambitious targets to be achieved by 2015.

It plans to “reduce teacher-pupil ratio at primary schools from 1:35 to 1:28 by 2015, reduce textbook-pupil ratio at primary school from 1:8 to 1:1 by 2015 and increase literacy rate from 88,4% to 98% by 2015.”

Education minister David Coltart last year appealed to the private sector to partner the inclusive government in its efforts to revive the sector as there was a shocking shortage of study materials, with some schools only equipped with one textbook per class in any given subject.

He revealed that at rural schools the ratio of students sharing textbooks is 1:30 while in urban areas it is mostly 1:15. Under the 2010 national budget, education was allocated $13,8 million for teaching materials, $28,15 million for cooperating partners (to be administered by Unicef), and $1,32 million for vehicles for education inspectors.

Parliament’s Education, Sports and Culture Portfolio Committee last December submitted a report expressing concern on the budget allocation saying “the amount allocated to the Education ministry falls far too short of the minimum required to enable the ministry to discharge its mandate at the most basic level”.
Government is also worried with the high rate of females dropping out of school.

“In 2006 a total of 30 359 primary school pupils dropped out of school while at secondary school a total of 21 190 dropped out of school of whom 51% were female” the committee says.

Financial Gazette
Njabulo Ncube
15 January 2010

Harare — The coalition government, grappling with a tight financial squeeze, called a crisis meeting with representatives of the country’s civil servants yesterday after union leaders rejected its offer and proceeded to issue a 14-day ultimatum to press for better pay and improved working conditions.

Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, Public Service Minister, Elphas Mukonoweshuro and Education Minister, David Coltart, convened the crisis meeting with the representatives from the Public Service Association (PSA), the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) to cool the volatile situation threatening the inclusive government’s economic recovery efforts.

Details of the indaba were not immediately available at the time of going to press.

But in a rare show of unity among the unions representing the country’s civil servants, PSA, ZIMTA and PTUZ called a joint press conference yesterday where they all rejected a government offer to pay the highest public worker US$236 a month.

Previously, the three unions had engaged the government separately, rendering their lobby for improved salaries ineffective.

Yesterday, the representatives of the civil servants told journalists that their membership was “dismayed” by the government offer made during the National Joint Negotiating Council on Tuesday.

They noted that their employer was silent on housing and transport allowances, at a time when rentals, rates and transport costs were accounting for the bulk of their monthly expenditure. “The civil servants in Zimbabwe, comprising educators and the rest of the civil servants, registered their displeasure and utter dismay at the paltry offer the government put forward on January 12 at the negotiating table for the 2010 salary review,” Tendai Chikowore, the ZIMTA president, said.

“The offer is inadequate, ridiculous and out of sync with the cost of living and therefore unacceptable. Civil servants therefore warn the government that its stance is a recipe for industrial disharmony likely to frustrate economic recovery,” she added.

The least paid civil servants, among them teachers, earn US$155 per month.

The unity government is technically insolvent due to revenue constraints and has been pleading with its employees to understand its precarious situation.

Appeals to international financiers for balance of payments support have drawn blanks as potential donors have insisted on the full implementation of the power-sharing pact signed in 2008 between the country’s key political actors.

At its inception in February 2009, the government paid all civil servants an allowance of US$100 a month. The allowances were later changed to a monthly salary averaging US$155.

In terms of the government offer, salaries in certain grades would have increased by between US$7 and US$21.

The highest paid civil servant, a permanent secretary in Grade E5, would have seen his or her monthly salary increasing from US$185 to US$236 against a Poverty Datum Line estimated at about US$500.

But the civil servants are adamant that they would want the least paid government worker to earn US$630, comprising of a basic entry salary of US$460, a housing allowance of US$120 and a transport allowance of US$50.

They also want the re-introduction of a rural allowance to be pegged at 20 percent of one’s monthly salary.

“Government should be warned that civil servants may deliver half-baked services that may ultimately compromise government processes.

“Meanwhile, we are giving the leadership of this country 14 days to intervene on this issue as a matter of urgency before it blossoms into conflict,” said Chikowore.

Takavafira Zhou, the president of PTUZ, and Cecilia Alexander, the president of PSA, endorsed the statement read by Chikowore.

“It’s an insult to civil servants. The government offer is unacceptable,” said Zhou.

Alexander, whose association represents the bulk of the civil servants, concurred.

“Our members are suffering. We are failing to send our children to school and to pay rent.

“If the government does not take us seriously, we are going to take action, which it is going to regret,” said Alexander.

Financial Gazette
Clemence Manyukwe
15 January 2010

Harare — As schools opened this week, the major preoccupation for most parents was the issue of exorbitant fees, the soaring cost of uniforms and strike threats by teachers over poor salaries.

These parents were however, oblivious of a new scourge pervading local learning institutions that can result in lasting mental and physical suffering to their children, according to education experts.

Recent reports indicate that violence at schools that is spiraling out of control — murder of students, sexual harassment, corporal punishment and bullying, which in some instances, has resulted in pupils/students being hospitalised.

In a Parliamentary debate of October 23 2009, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) Masvingo Urban Member of Parliament, Tongai Matutu, who is also a practicing lawyer, told the House of Assembly that, as a remedy, legislators should enact a law to prohibit corporal punishment in schools.

“I am saying this because over the weekend in Mwenezi constituency I heard a sad story of a headmaster who assaulted a schoolboy because he was found outside the school area… As I am speaking right now, the child is in hospital with serious brain damage,” Matutu said.

And in another shocking and fatal development, a Chinhoyi High School student, Moreblessing Musiiwa, died after he was allegedly struck with a cricket bat by the school’s sports director, Joseph Mpala, while caretaker, Lameck Katungunde, held him.

The High Court granted the two suspects bail two months ago.

In response to the violence, Plan International has mulled the “Learn without Fear” initiative to reduce or halt abuse at schools.

According to a study the organisation undertook last year, there is a prevalence of sexual violence in schools, which often goes unreported; corporal punishment by teachers and bullying by fellow schoolchildren among other rights abuses.

The study said 67 percent of children and 35 percent of teachers concurred that at one time or another corporal punishment is perpetrated by all teachers.

Researchers Fiona Leach, Pamela Machakanja and Jennifer Mandoga concluded that Zimbabwean schools have fostered an authoritarian culture where the behavior of teachers cannot be questioned, thereby entrenching the abuse of students.

“Male sexual aggression in schools appears to be institutionalised and considered as normal. Girls respond on the whole with resignation and passivity. Schools are themselves complicit in the abuse in that they fail to discipline perpetrators (whether pupils or teachers), deny that abuse exists, and foster an authoritarian culture where the behaviour of teachers cannot be questioned,” they said.

Justice for Children Trust, said although Zimbabwe ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on October 11 1990, corporal punishment still forms part of local statutes, but in neighbouring South Africa — which also subscribes to the same convention — it is now prohibited.

To expose the government’s attitude towards the convention, the Trust said the agreement has a five-year reporting period but Zimbabwe had done so only once and that was in 1995.

Away from the abuses but still on the violation of school children’s rights, the Youth Forum of Zimba-bwe, said the current exorbitant fees demanded by some institutions constitute discrimination against the poor in terms of accessing education.

Most private and trust schools are charging fees of between US$1 200 and US$2 000 for secondary schoolboarders per term while government schools are demanding US$850 for boarders at formerly Group A public schools.

Reports indicate that Dominican Convent Senior School is demanding about US$650 for day scholars per term while St Ignatius High School in Chis-hawasha and Che-gato High in Mbe-rengwa are charging about US$400 in boarding fees.

At most high density public secondary schools authorities are charging US$105 per term per child.

To the dismay of parents, cases of embezzlement of funds by school authorities since the adoption of multi-currencies last Feb-ruary have been on the rise prompting the police to arrest a number of headmasters or headmistresses including those based at Kuwadzana 4 Primary School in Harare, St Aug-ustines High School in Penhalonga and St David’s Bonda High School.

“Education continues to be both inaccessible and unaffordable…it’s clear that discrimination in accessing basic rights such as health and education is purely on monetary grounds, with the rich being able to access such rights,” the Youth Forum said in a statement.

On the other hand Justice for Children Trust, said although local laws and policies such as the Basic Education Assistance Module and the National Action Plan for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children provided social security, the welfare structures have been neglected and some of them have been rendered non-existent for the past six to 10 years due to lack of resources, poor management and unbalanced resource allocation, among other issues.

“The current Education Act provides that education is every child’s right and that primary education is compulsory and free of charge, however, this is not the case on the ground as scores of children are not attending primary school.

“The government has ‘scrapped’ or ‘reduced’ school fees but at the same time it allows school development associations and councils to charge unaffordable levies, which leaves lots of children unable to attend school,” the Trust said in a statement.

“Further to that, teachers in the schools are not being provided with adequate tools of their trade neither are they adequately motivated to do their work and this has curtailed children’s right to education, not to mention the unaffordable examination fees.”

Last year, Education Minister, David Coltart, said in some rural schools the student textbook ratio stood at 30:1 while in urban areas it was mostly at 20:1 or 15:1.
In its statement the Children’s Trust, said although the government believes it has made significant progress in addressing provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children the situation on the ground points to the contrary.

In terms of Article 7 of the Convention, every child has a right to a nationality, a name and a birth certificate — the latter — a requirement in writing public examination in the country.

“The country should seriously consider birth registration as it is the mainstay of any child’s future and the enjoyment of almost all the other rights.

“A lot of children do not have birth certificates due to factors that include lack of adequate resources at the Registrar’s General office, lack of civic education on the importance and requirements of registration, stringent requirements and lack of national identity documents and death certificates of the children’s parents,” the children’s organisation said.

“This is all despite the fact that the Birth and Death registration Act states that every child must be registered within six weeks of birth.

Eyewitness News
13 January 2010

Schooling in Zimbabwe did not get off to a good start on Wednesday when teachers refused to do their work because they did not receive pay hikes.

Teachers want their salaries quadrupled to take them past the poverty line but it does not seem as though they will get more than the R1 500 they received last year.
Education Minister David Coltart said he was not the one who fixed salaries.

Teachers and civil servants were angry when they heard production had massively increased in Zimbabwe and MPs had posh new cars while they got very little.

The Zimbabwean
Written by WOZA
Wednesday, 13 January 2010

WOZA and MOZA take to the streets of Bulawayo today to demand real schools with real teachers for a real education.

Over 800 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise took to the streets of Bulawayo at midday today to peacefully protest about the state of education in Zimbabwe. Five groups started separately and converged on Mhlahlandlela Government complex to hand over the WOZA report on the education system in Zimbabwe entitled – Looking Back to look Forward. The report covers recommendations and a list of demands that parents want addressed by the Minister of Education, Senator David Coltart. Before they could hand over the report however, the peaceful group was dispersed by at least 12 police officers, including high-ranking officers. No arrests have been reported to date but WOZA leaders are still verifying whether everyone returned safely to their homes.

The theme of the protest was -‘real schools with real teachers for a real education’. Education has been a long-term mobilisation issue for WOZA. As the new school year begins, many members have reported that their children were turned away at the gates of schools yesterday on the first day of term.
Reasons given include account arrears and non-payment of the US$5 required for last year’s report card. One school even turned away children for non-payment of a ‘vandalising day’, a ZAR 10 contribution.

Given the general unhappiness of parents at the state of education in Zimbabwe, support for the peaceful march from bystanders was high.
Observers reported that many bystanders joined the group at Mhlahlandlela.

One man who joined the demonstration was overheard saying that he would be prepared to be arrested because the issue of education is so close to his heart. Uniformed police officers also asked members as they were dispersing why they had stopped singing and encouraged them to continue with their songs of protest. The songs included the words, “our children are crying for education”.

Attempts to hand in the report to the Regional Director for Education were unsuccessful as apparently the position in Matabeleland has not been filled.

Security guards at the gate of the government complex told the protestors to go to Harare and speak directly to the Minister of Education. Copies of the newsletter were left with the guards instead.

The demands included in the report include:

. Teachers must produce quality teaching and show that they are committed to the learning of all their pupils equally.

. Education authorities must utilise the vehicles that are being purchased to supervise teachers and demand more discipline in schools.

. Teachers must stop demanding top-ups from parents and the Ministry must prohibit this practice.

. The Ministry must work to produce a new and relevant curriculum as recommended above.

. Parents will do their best to pay reasonable fees set by Ministry and levies set by properly constituted and democratic parents meetings at the beginning of each year – we will not accept any fee or levy changes in 2010.

The full education report and the text of the newsletter can be found on the WOZA website.

Sydney Morning Herald
By Aaron Lawton
January 10, 2010

THE New Zealand cricket team is unlikely to tour Zimbabwe in June or July, but there’s a strong chance it will instead square off against the African nation at a neutral venue.

Originally, the tour was supposed to take place in 2009, but was put back a year after discussions between Zimbabwe Cricket’s chief executive, Ozias Bvute, and his counterpart at New Zealand Cricket, Justin Vaughan.

At the time, NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association raised concerns about cholera, water shortages and the standard of medical care in Zimbabwe, and it appears Vaughan is still not convinced those issues have been resolved.

While NZC is yet to make an official decision on a tour, Vaughan yesterday said he would like one “sooner rather than later”.

“With Zimbabwe, I’d really hope to have that nailed down inside the next six weeks,” he said.
If NZC remains uncomfortable with the situation in Zimbabwe, Vaughan has floated the possibility of the sides playing at a neutral venue, as was the case late last year when the Black Caps took on Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

New Zealand’s concern about medical facilities in Zimbabwe appears to have touched a raw nerve in Africa, with Zimbabwe’s sports minister, David Coltart, responding in Harare’s Independent newspaper.
“I think it’s unfortunate because while we don’t have a First World health system, we still have very good medical facilities in this country. Our private health system is excellent, and for those who can afford it service delivery is excellent,” he said.

“The cholera epidemic that affected our nation in 2008-09 is a thing of the past. I don’t believe there is any justification to use health grounds to stop a team from coming here.”

However, reports last week suggested Harare’s sewerage system had all but collapsed and raw sewage could potentially contaminate the city’s main water source.

Sunday News
10 January 2010
By Vusumuzi Dube and Bhekizulu Tshuma

SALARY negotiations between Government and representatives of Government workers including teachers are going on well and an announcement is imminent regarding the new pay structure for the civil service, a Cabinet minister has said.

In an interview ahead of the opening of schools last Tuesday, the Minister of Public Service, Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, said the talks were going on well and an announcement would to be made soon on the new salary structure.

“As it is, we are still negotiating and there are no problems so far. As soon as the necessary deliberations are made and upon reaching an agreement we will then make an announcement on the agreed amounts of salaries,’’ he said by telephone from Harare.

Teachers, who earn US$150 per month, have demanded a review of their salaries but have ruled out a strike saying they want to give the negotiations a chance to yield the desired results.

The chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, Mr Sifiso Ndlovu, said they were not considering the option of a strike as negotiations were still ongoing with the Government on the issue of salaries.

“As an association we are negotiating in good faith with the Government on the issue of salaries and we will map a way forward only when the talks are completed,’’ said Mr Ndlovu.

The teachers, who number 90 000, are demanding US$600 per month and if Government accedes to their request, this would translate to more than US$55 million, which is half the country’s monthly total tax revenue.

Meanwhile, parents are set to continue providing incentives to teachers but school authorities have been advised to be cautious in the manner in which they draw up the incentives.

Incentives were introduced last year with parents required to pay teachers a certain amount to help boost their monthly earnings. However there were reports that some schools were abusing the facility by overcharging parents with some asking for as much as US$20 per month per child.

Parents and guardians appealed to the Government to urgently address the situation to bring an end to the issue as in most cases defaulters were being sent home or not allowed to attend classes.

In an interview, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, said incentives were set to continue but Government had come up with a tighter legal framework to help manage school authorities.

Senator Coltart urged school authorities to involve parents in coming up with incentives to avoid abuse of the facility.

He said his ministry would ensure that school authorities complied with the stipulated regulations on incentives as most of them had in the past abused the system.
“What should be noted is that the country has stipulated regulations governing the issue of levies and our call to school authorities is for them to stick to those regulations,’’ said Senator Coltart.

The minister said they were working on reviewing the education laws of the country with the hope of making the collection of levies more transparent and accountable.
“Until such a time, school authorities must ensure that parents are engaged when drawing up incentives, notice of meetings should be made on time and the meetings should constitute a quorum of 20 percent,’’ the minister said.

He said Government in the long run was aiming at scrapping incentives as they had created inequalities in the education system as well as creating tension between teachers and parents but he noted that there was a danger that if they were cut off, there would be a massive exodus of the teaching staff.

In a related development, Zimta has reiterated that it does not want incentives as they are a simple excuse for them not to get reasonable salaries.
The Zimta CEO said it was high time the Government adopted a one off payment system for teachers.

“As teachers we are not happy about these incentives as they do not add up to our salaries, teachers need other allowances like medical, housing or transport and this should be urgently looked into,’’ Mr Ndlovu said.

He said incentives caused divisions among the teachers with those in rural areas getting less than their counter parts teaching at up market schools.

Sunday Mail
Editorial
10th January 2010

ON Tuesday, “it’s back to school” and after the chaos that has characterised the opening of schools in previous years, will all the parties concerned please ensure that this first school term in 2010 will be an enjoyable one for our innocent children.

Already we have heard very disturbing statements from the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, who last week told teacher representatives that “the best person to answer their questions (about salaries) would be the Finance Minister as he is the one who presented the budget”.

He went on to add that “I do not know what they would be getting as I am not the one who pays them”.

Since he took over as minister, Mr Coltart has been trying to improve the welfare of teachers, but his latest stance on salaries is misinformed. He is the minister responsible for the welfare of teachers and so he should get the answers from the Minister of Finance on behalf of the teachers.
Fortunately, the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association and the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe have decided to ignore Mr Coltart’s attitude and are calling on all teachers to report for duty on Tuesday.

The two organisations have said they will only map the way forward after their meeting with Government, which is set for Tuesday.

It, however, boggles the mind why such an important meeting is scheduled for the very day that schools will be opening. Why not last week or some other day to give room for proper discussions?
Now teachers will report for duty on Tuesday not knowing what salaries they will be getting. This is poor planning on behalf of Minister Coltart and Minister Biti.

These two ministers should be held responsible if there are any disturbances to the schooling calendar this first term.

The PTUZ is already demanding a salary of nothing less than US$500 for teachers and is threatening to go on strike if that demand is not met. While we don’t agree with the confrontational approach by the union, we think the Government would have been in a better position to deal with contentious issues if the discussions were held during the school holidays.

Minister Coltart also made a statement that the payment of teacher incentives by parents will continue until Government is able to offer teachers viable salaries.

One gets the feeling that Government is now sitting on its laurels as parents bear the burden of paying the teachers. This is unfair because the parents are already overburdened.

To make matters worse, the payment of incentives to teachers by parents has seen the birth of stinking corruption in some schools. Also it is important to note that it is only the teachers in urban areas who are benefiting from this facility as parents in rural areas can’t afford to pay the incentives. What happens to teachers at schools in the rural and mining areas?

Of course, parents will pay the incentives so that teachers report for duty, but it is high time that Government came out with a sustainable solution to teachers’ salaries.

The inclusive Government has been praised in many quarters and this year school children should see the benefits of this Government through uninterrupted classes.

It was worrying to hear that last year’s Grade 7 results that were supposed to be released at the end of November or at the beginning of December, were only released last Friday.

Even more worrying are reports that the marking of Ordinary and Advanced level examinations only started last Monday. Reports say the marking will end on February 13 and results are expected to be released early March.

While the delays in the marking are understandable due to the numerous problems that Zimsec faced in 2009, the hope among many parents is that the education system will improve in 2010.

Just last week, there were reports that vendors had invaded the Harare city centre as some parents tried to raise school fees for their children. This is just how parents value the education of their children and we hope all the parties concerned are taking note.

Just yesterday, there were reports that some shops in Harare had raised prices of school uniforms and other school items claiming that manufacturers had hiked their prices.

The manufacturers denied this and we hope the retailers realise that most parents are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

As for the schools, we hope that the payment of incentives to teachers by parents will not be used as a window to enrich the headmasters and heads of the School Development Associations.

The Tuesday meeting between Government and the teacher representatives should be held with the school children in mind.

These school children are the future of this country and they deserve descent education. After all, it is their right!