The Zimbabwean
By John Chimunhu
Monday, 12 October 2009

HARARE – About 8 000 teachers who fled election violence last year and only returned to their posts in 2009 have gone for months without pay as retribution for their perceived support of the MDC, a union official has charged.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary general Raymond Majongwe told The Zimbabwean in an interview last week that some Zanu (PF) die-hards in education offices at district and provincial level were out to frustrate the teachers and present the MDC minister of education, sport and culture David Coltart as weak.

“It’s political. There are people in the education system who feel they’ve power to frustrate teachers because of their political affiliation and their links to the MDC,” said Majongwe.

“We are aggrieved because 5 000 of the 8 000 teachers who have not been paid are our members. This is why they are being victimized.”

Education minister David Coltart confirmed in an email to this newspaper that a number of teachers had gone without pay.
“I am aware of the fact that some teachers have not been paid and I have asked the Permanent Secretary to urgently address this. It is also the subject of extensive correspondence with the Salary Service Bureau and the PSC,” Coltart said.

Majongwe said Zanu (PF) supporters in the education system were taking advantage of the lengthy bureaucratic procedures which require appointment papers to go through district and then provincial offices before they are finally forwarded to the permanent secretary and the government’s Salary Services Bureau for processing. The Ministry of Public Service also has to approve the appointments through the Public Service Commission.
Coltart said he had heard the reports of political victimization but needed evidence to act on them.

“I have heard these allegations but they have not been substantiated – if you have any hard evidence I would be grateful to receive the reports – I will then investigate,” he said.
Majongwe revealed that some education officials had been arrested after they demanded bribes from the returning teachers before re-admitting them.

“There are people who’ve gotten used to a system that doesn’t work. There are others who want to make Coltart a failure and then there are others who just want things to remain as they are,” said Majongwe.

He said one teacher from Chivu, a Masona who was a known MDC supporter, had gone for 15 months without pay as punishment for his political beliefs. Other teachers were subjected to various forms of humiliation, including having to re-apply and present their educational papers afresh, besides having to go through the costly process of seeking police clearance.

“There was an agreement that each teacher coming back should go back to their original schools if there are vacancies. However, many teachers are being victimized. They are being deployed to rural areas as punishment. This victimization must stop,” Majongwe said.

VOA
By Scott Bobb
Harare
12 October 2009

Teachers across Zimbabwe struck for three weeks last month over demands for higher pay. The country’s unity government is coming under increasing pressure as it struggles to raise funds for education and other basic services in the face of depleted revenues caused by the country’s economic problems.
The teachers strike closed schools and caused parents to worry that their children might lose a second school year to the country’s economic crisis.

Like most civil servants in Zimbabwe, teachers have been earning about $100 a month. The power-sharing government offered this salary to all civil servants after its inauguration in March.

The new government took over following years of hyper-inflation that had eroded salaries, devastated economic production and caused widespread unemployment and food shortages.

It said the salary was a temporary measure until it could revitalize the economy and restore government revenues.

The president of one of two main teachers unions, Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive Teachers Union, says teachers want $500. But they decided to end the strike because it was hurting the children.

“The best way for teachers is go back to the schools and teach and allow their leadership to engage government,” he said. “Then more positive results are going to come. We are killing ourselves because the very children who are not learning are our own children.”

Zimbabwe’s education system has been in decline for a decade, due to falling government revenues and an exodus of teachers.

Analysts blame the crisis on the policies of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, but the party blames the problems on sanctions imposed by Western countries.

Education Minister David Coltart is a member of the former-opposition Movement for Democratic Change that joined the government as part of the power-sharing agreement between Mr. Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Coltart has been trying to rebuild the school system on a shoestring budget.

“The problem that we face, however, as a government, is that our economy is in state of near-collapse,” he said. “Our treasury coffers are almost bare.”

The United Nations recently donated $70-million for materials for Zimbabwe’s schools. But donor countries hesitate to subsidize salaries for fear the funds will be diverted.

Coltart says he can only hope additional funding begins to flow in the next six months.

“I cannot today make any promises and all that I can do is to call on the sense of patriotism of our teachers and the trade union movement to recognize that we are acting in good faith, but there is a limit to what we can do,” added Coltart.

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions President Lovemore Matombo says the group’s 350,000 workers in 32 trade unions are struggling to survive. But he says economic reforms eight months ago ended hyper-inflation and restored some economic production.

“The workers now know that the economy has started to stabilize and that there should be an increase of salaries,” said Matombo. “Should they fail to do that [increase salaries], there is very much this feeling among workers that we should take [strike] action.”

He says if worker demands are not met, there could be strikes before the end of the year, placing more pressure on the unity government and Zimbabwe’s economy.

Sunday Mail
By Lovemore Chikova
11th October 2009

THERE is a joke doing the rounds in Harare these days that a person who buys more beer than others in a beerhall or at a bottle store should be a teacher or a headmaster.

The joke emanates from the fact that teachers have suddenly become the most affluent among their peers in the civil service.

This followed a directive from the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, that teachers be paid extra allowances from school levies.
But the system, which allowed the teachers to take home only 10 percent from the levies as incentives, has now gone out of control and there are allegations that it is being abused by both teachers and school heads.

Some teachers are not only taking more than the allocated 10 percent of the levies, but they are also demanding that the parents pay extra allowances for them to teach.

Unfortunately, the once noble profession is fast losing direction amid countless reports that teachers are holding parents to ransom by demanding the extra benefits.
Only last week, a local newspaper reported that teachers at some schools in Harare were demanding US$1 000 from each pupil in an examination class for them to conduct lessons.

The same daily newspaper reported that other teachers at some schools in Chitungwiza were demanding US$300 a day for what they termed “extra lessons”.
Harare regional education director Mr Tommax Dobha confirmed that his office had received reports of such demands being made by teachers.

“We have sent our officers to investigate those allegations,” he was quoted by the daily paper as saying. “However, we need to establish the facts first before we take the next step.”

The demands have since gone to levels where the teachers are asking for foodstuffs and other basic necessities from the parents. The newspaper also exposed some teachers in Masvingo who were said to be demanding buckets of maize and sweet potatoes from students before they could start lessons.

The situation was said to be worse in the Mapanzure communal lands where parents with children at Muchenurwa and Shumbayaonda primary schools alleged that the teachers were demanding payment in kind.

In Chivi South, the same newspaper reported that some teachers had since moved their demands to soap, cooking oil, sugar and maize meal.
One parent from Mapanzure, Mr John Hakurabwi, was quoted as saying: “They are ripping us off these teachers. They now demand maize and sweet potatoes from parents, yet they are being paid by the Government.”

But it all started when Senator Coltart produced a circular in May this year directing that teachers be paid 10 percent of the levies as incentives.

The schools followed the directive, but most of them ended up directing all the money paid in levies to pay the teachers’ allowances.

Yet part of the levies is supposed to go towards repairs and maintenance, sports and culture, administration and learning materials.

Already there have been some running battles between teachers and school development associations (SDAs) over the use of the levies.

The SDAs argue that the teachers should at least spare some money for development purposes, while the teachers insist that the levies have become part of their payment. School children who fail to pay the levies are being expelled despite the circular from the ministry indicating that no child should be expelled for failing to pay levies.

Some headmasters and teachers have become ruthless in dealing with pupils who fail to pay up.

A weekly newspaper in Manicaland last week reported that some school authorities had gone to the extent of whipping the pupils who failed to pay the money on time.
Parents are not obviously happy with the status quo and want it changed.

“Their demands are too much and at this rate, they will end up asking us to buy them furniture and other household goods in order for them to teach our children,” said one parent from Warren Park, who refused to be named for fear that his children at Warren Park 1 Primary School would be victimised.

“They are holding us to ransom and I am no longer sure about the future of my children and our education system.”

The situation has reached crisis levels to such an extent that teachers are actually pretending to be on strike and asking children who can afford to pay them directly to come for extra lessons.

A Bulawayo-based daily newspaper reported last month that pupils at Senzangakhona Primary School in Emganwini had alleged that the teachers were demanding at least R20 from each one of them for them to conduct lessons.

Observers say the system has caused anarchy at most schools and it demands bold action from the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture to stop the rot.
The national secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association, Mr Richard Gundane, said they were aware that some of their members were abusing parents by making extortionate demands.

“Yes, we know that there are some teachers who are coercing students to pay extra money for lessons,” he said. “We condemn the practice because it is outside the set policy.”

Mr Gundane said the practice was tantamount to fleecing parents and was made worse by the fact that the teachers were demanding “unreasonable” amounts.
He said it was evident that the practice of offering incentives to the teachers had created a chaotic situation in the education sector, but the solution was to award the teachers salaries that are enough to cater for their needs.

Mr Gundane said the situation was made worse by the fact that there were some parents who voluntarily offered the teachers extra incentives for them to pay more attention to their children.

The Minister of Public Service, Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, said the system of paying incentives would be abolished because teachers had gone out of control.
He said it had become obvious that some teachers were “milking parents of their meagre earnings” by demanding extra money.

Prof Mukonoweshuro said the system of incentives was put in place as a way of cushioning teachers when they were not being paid salaries by the Government.
“Teachers are employees of the Public Service and not parents, hence the need for the employers to see to it that they are paid, lest we end up not being able to control them,” said Prof Mukonoweshuro.

“The Government cannot afford to sit back and relax while teachers abuse the facility of incentives and exploit the parents. We do not condone the abuse as it does not promote a win-win situation for both the teachers and the parents.”

But his remarks might actually have come a bit late because it has become obvious in recent weeks that the Government is slowly losing grip on the teachers.
The reality on the ground seems to suggest that the habit of coaxing parents to cough out extra incentives is now deeply entrenched among teachers.

IPS
By Ignatius Banda
8th October 2009

BULAWAYO, Oct 8 (IPS) – Schooling is increasingly becoming a privilege of the rich, Zimbabwean parents and teachers’ unions complain.

The country’s cash-strapped education ministry is charging a fee of 20 U.S. dollars per ‘A-level’ subject to cover costs – but a majority of students have failed to register at all as they can’t afford it.

Secondary school students hoping to on to higher studies, secure an apprenticeship or a place in a technical college must register for either five Ordinary Level subjects at U.S. $10 each, or three Advanced Level subjects at $20 each.

But many families are unable to find the 50 or 60 U.S. dollars needed to register.

“Where are we supposed to get that kind money?” complains Zanele Dube, herself a teacher who says she failed to raise examination fees for her two children.

“This is the reason why we are always demanding salary increments. Imagine a teacher failing to send her own kids to school,” Dube said. Zimbabwean teachers earn about U.S. $170 per month, but labour unions have pegged the minimum wage at 430 dollars.

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) says that 75 percent of the 300,000 students who had been expected to sit for their “O” and A” level examinations in November had failed to register before the September deadline.

Last month, one prospective public exams candidate took the Minister of Education to court in a bid to force him to extend the examination fee payment deadline, a further sign of the desperation of many students whose parents’ monthly incomes are frequently as little as $20, to raise the money needed to write their finals.

Last week, a government official from Matebeleland announced that one rural school in the district had failed to register even one student for public examinations after parents failed to raise exam fees.

While the ministry extended the deadline to December before the court ruled on the application by the prospective examination candidate, as part of efforts to allow parents time to raise the money, this will not help, says PTUZ.

Minister of Education Senator David Coltart says his ministry does not have the money to undo years of damage. While the ministry has sought assistance from the European Union and various agencies, nothing has come through yet.

This has meant there is no money to subsidise the costs of administering the examinations. Senator Coltart says his ministry needs an immediate injection of at least USD10 million for the exams to held and their subsequent marking.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has lamented the decline of the country’s education sector in a country where teachers report that up to ten pupils share a single textbook.

“Zimbabwe’s education sector, once a model in Africa, continues to be riddled with challenges. Public financing of the sector declined significantly over the last decade, leaving most schools with no funds to purchase even the most basic teaching materials such as text books and stationery,” reads a recent statement by UNICEF.

In September, Senator Coltart and UNICEF, working the international donor community unveiled a U.S. $70 million Education Transition Fund to assist underprivileged children, but with lack of interest in education among many students here, this rescue package could prove to be a little too late.

However, for students like Munyaradzi Muzanhenhamo, the continuing salary impasse between government and teacher unions might mean another idle year ahead as there was hardly any learning this year because of the strike by teachers.

Teacher unions have already threatened they might not return to work next year if government fails to commit itself to meeting their salary demands.

“It is possible we are not going back to classes next year even if we miss writing this year’s examinations,” Muzanhenhamo said. “And this could be because there are no teachers at all or that we failed once again to raise both tuition and examination fees.”

Last year at the height of the teacher exodus, parents working in South Africa were reportedly transferring their children from Zimbabwean schools and enrolling them in South Africa where education in some schools is free.

Now however, children are quitting school altogether – sometimes without telling their parents – to head to “the place of gold” – as Johannesburg is known here.

The Herald
By Bhekizulu Sibanda
7 October 2009
OPINION

ONE can be forgiven to conclude that the media were instrumental in reversing the examination registration deadline.

Was the Ministry of Education going to throw a lifeline to students who had failed to beat the September 25 deadline were it not for the media and public outcry?
Already the Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture, David Coltart, had refused to extend the deadline insisting that they proceed with the 30 percent who had managed to register and the other 70 percent would register for June 2010.

In defence of his statement, Minister Coltart gave out that further delays would have disrupted the smooth running of public examinations.

Then the question to ask would be: How can one talk of a smooth running examination schedule with only 30 percent of the students on board?

Nevertheless, the deadline extension is not the panacea to the issues affecting the education sector, but a reflection of the status quo within the education sector, which has continued to disintegrate with no remedy in sight.

The education sector has been affected by the harsh economic environment. It has witnessed massive human resources exodus and according to Zimta, it is estimated that over 15 000 teachers have left the teaching fraternity and these have not been replaced.

Schools are grappling against a critical shortage of learning material like chalks, textbooks and ballpoints. The situation has been made worse by obsolete infrastructure that has gone without repair and maintenance due to the inflationary environment.

Recently, there were reports that thousands of Ordinary and Advanced Level candidates from as far as 2007 were yet to get their certificates because Zimsec did not have the financial capacity for print. This scenario was compromising student’s chances of furthering their studies, or securing employment.

The bone of contention is the attitude of Government towards the education sector. The problems within the sector are not on Government’s priority list.
The education sector is in a crisis and therefore Government is not doing enough to address these problems. Government’s attitude is clearly reflected in the initial statement made by Minister Coltart in response to examination registration deadline: “It’s unfortunate that there is little we can do to assist those affected, Government has no resources to subsidise the fees.” While it’s understood that Government has limited financial resources, education is not a priority, Government would rather source financial resources for legislators’ luxurious vehicles than subsidise the education sector.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion would be, Government just does not care or the minister is not in touch with the developments on the ground, which is very unlikely.

Is the Government aware of increasing numbers of school dropouts due to unaffordable school levies, especially in rural areas?

Has it ever dawned to the minister that the majority of students that are failing to pay for their examination fees are those in rural areas?

Is he aware that these are the same parents who have been failing to pay School Development Association levies and in some cases have been making payments in kind to allow their children to attend classes? Under the circumstances, what miracle is waiting to happen so that these parents will be able to meet the monthly instalments towards examination until January 2010?

It would appear the Government is not in the picture concerning the income structures of the majority of parents. At US$10 per subject for six subjects one would need US$60 in total, quite reasonable for an average working person. However, ask someone who is unemployed in the rural areas to raise that amount over three months it’s different.

This is not the first time Minister Coltart has miscalculated parents’ ability to pay school fees. Earlier this year, he pegged exorbitant fees for Government schools which were beyond the reach of many. Eventually, the fees were drastically reduced having realised his oversight.

Now that the examination registration issues having being resolved, it is prudent for the ministry to immediately start planning for the writing of these examinations. In 2008, the Ministry made a last-minute urgent appeal for Government vehicles to dispatch examination question papers, poor planning indeed which should not be repeated.

The ministry should also be proactive in liaising with the Ministry of Finance so that financial resources are made available in time without markers having to first go on some form of demonstration to be paid thereby delaying the marking process.

The problem of unprinted Ordinary and Advanced Level certificates has remained outstanding for some time, what plans does Government have concerning these? Are they waiting for 2009 students to write their examinations first so that they are printed at the same time? Or Zimsec is just watching as statistics of unprinted certificates continue to rise.

So what must happen first for the Honourable Minister of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture to realise that the education sector is in crisis and Government intervention is urgently required to avert the problem before it becomes a disaster? Efforts for the restoration of economic recovery, growth and development in the country will remain in the horizon if the whole generation is left behind uneducated at this stage.

In 1996, the Swedish government poured up to US$13,9 million towards the education sector, which was channelled towards procurement of textbooks, special education needs, construction of school buildings, capacity building and promotion of gender equity in education. There has been nothing since.

Despite the setback, Government should still remain committed to ensuring that education has remained accessible to every child. We read of pass rates falling, more children dropping out of school and what has been the response by the Government. Is the education system still the best in Africa? If not, where did we go wrong and what is being done towards rectifying this? There is need at present for the ministry to think outside the box and be proactive in articulating their problems.

SW RadioAfrica
By Violet Gonda
6 October 2009

A rather subdued Robert Mugabe finally opened the Second Session of the Seventh Parliament on Tuesday, where Morgan Tsvangirai was also present at the official opening for the first time as Prime Minister. Several parliamentarians also said that for the first time there were no tensions in the House while Mugabe was delivering his speech which was ‘relatively devoid of his usual nastiness.’

Observers say it appears the political rivals may have made some concessions to be ‘civil with each other’. Last August Mugabe was humiliated and left rattled after MDC-T parliamentarians jeered, heckled and sang ‘ZANU PF is rotten’ during his speech, but there was none of that this time around. Some MDC MPs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were told by the top leadership in the inclusive government not to repeat last year’s performance.

One of the MPs said the instructions came via the party’s chief whip in parliament, Innocent Gonese, who allegedly told the MPs there would be no heckling. One disappointed MP said: “It was one of those sad and boring days in parliament where you just sat there and listened to an old, sickly man delivering another useless message to the nation.”

However Gonese denied ordering the legislators not to boo Mugabe. But he pointed out: “There was a general discussion that this time things had to be done a bit differently and we obviously discussed with members that we did not expect there to be the heckling or the singing that characterised last year’s opening. But generally the MPs I spoke to were appreciative of the need to have that different approach.”

The MDC chief whip told SW Radio Africa that this was because things were very different last year, as it was before the inception of the inclusive government and decisions were being made unilaterally by ZANU PF. He said this time around the Prime Minister was in chambers, as compared to the last time when he was not even sworn in as an MP. Gonese said the environment was completely different and relatively jovial Tuesday.

Meanwhile in his opening speech, Mugabe told the House that Zimbabwe is ready for new and friendly relations with the West. He said: “Our country remains in a positive stance to enter into fresh, friendly and cooperative relations with all those countries that have been hostile to us in the past.” Just two weeks ago Mugabe accused western countries of trying to divide the coalition government. Of course he didn’t lose the opportunity to also point out that the lifting of the targeted sanctions was essential for this to become a reality.

Mugabe said the inclusive government would consult people on the issue of creating a new constitution, although he revealed that the political parties’ negotiators will be part of a management committee to head the constitution making process. There are fears that this management committee will remove the authority of the Parliamentary Select Committee, which is supposed run the affairs of the constitution making process. If this happened it would put the constitutional process directly under the control of the political parties.

The negotiators on the management committee are the same people who came up with the controversial Kariba Draft constitution, which has been rejected by the MDC-T itself and civil society, because it is not people driven.

However Gonese insisted that while the political parties have now more direct involvement, it does not mean they are taking over control of the process. He said the three co-chairpersons of the Parliamentary Select Committee will also be part of the new management structure.

The chief whip said the Principals decided to create the management committee, to speed up the constitution making process which has been hit by severe delays. “There have been some challenges on the funding and there have been some misunderstandings between some of the key players. But we are now hoping that that this (management structure) will smooth things in such a way that the work of the committee will now proceed without hindrance and hope that now there will be less room for misunderstandings and hopefully that this process will be concluded sooner rather than later,” said Gonese.

The Parliamentary Select Committee is co-chaired by Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T), Paul Mangwana (ZANU PF) and Senator David Coltart (MDC-M).

The negotiators are: Patrick Chinamasa & Nicholas Goche (ZANU PF); Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga & Welshman Ncube (MDC-M) and Tendai Biti & Elton Mangoma (MDC-T).

The Zimbabwean
By Privilege Musvanhiri
Monday 5 October 2009

HARARE – Parents have expressed mixed feelings on the decision by the Ministry of Education Sports and Culture to extend loans to students who failed to register for November 2009 public examinations.

Maidei Chibvongodze, a parent from Harare’s Mufakose suburb said, “I welcome the latest announcement by government. At least my two children who are seating for Ordinary and Advanced level can now have the hope to sit for their final examinations. I had failed to raise the money for the fees. I am a widow and not gainfully employed.”

She said it would be a mammoth task for her to raise the required fees by January 2010.

David Nyariri from Chiweshe said the announcement was welcome but still discriminatory to rural students whose parents do not have any meaningful source of income.

“Minister Coltart’s announcement is a reprieve to most parents but I feel the decision is still discriminatory. Most rural families are failing to raise a dollar to pay for maize meal at local grinding mills. They have to do butter trade with the millers. One has to carry an extra gallon as payment for a bucket of grain to be processed at the grinding mill. How then do you expect such people to raise US$60 for the payment of six or three subjects for Ordinary and A level?” Nyariri said.

Fears are also that the maximum of six subjects per student applying for government assistance would disadvantage brilliant pupils who would have liked to write eight or 10 subjects of their choice.

The Minister of Education Sport and Culture, David Coltart, announced on Thursday that the deadline for the 2009 public examinations was now set for Friday October 16 and prospective students could make arrangements to pay exam fees on a loan basis.

He said those registering from now would make monthly payments up to January 31, 2010.

Over 70 percent of prospective candidates had failed to raise the US$10 and US$20 per subject for Ordinary and Advanced Level by 22nd of September which had been set as the deadline for registration.

Teachers unions strongly criticized government’s insistence on closing out prospective students who had failed to register, and a significant number of students had stopped attending classes after the September deadline with no hope of writing exams.

Once an example in Africa with an estimated 80% literacy rate, Zimbabwe’s education is in despair following years of economic meltdown under the corrupt and oppressive Zanu (PF) regime.

Comments
• |2009-10-06 06:37:48 bobymafi – Well done Minister
It will be difficult to please everyone, especially those used to be lied to by Zanu PF that education can be free when state coffers are dry.Coltart has done his best under the given circumstances.Parents should do their bit no matter how difficult.The other option is for the Minister to lie to them that it comes cheap and the results never come.We dont want to end up with exams at KGV1 being marked by the wrong people.When l did my ordinary levels back in 1984 the fee was Z$84 but my aint had to run around a couple of relatives to raise it and we had to without so many basics after it was eventually paid.Lets rebuild the economy to such a level that it can sustain such costs and along the way keep politicians in check to make sure they do not syphone our resources including those at Chiyadzwa.Lets also make sure we dont incur unnecessary debts because this what makes government unable to pay for education expenses!!!!!!

IRIN
5 October 2009

HARARE, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) – Despite moves to salvage Zimbabwe’s ailing education sector, exorbitant fees are keeping many poor students from writing the examinations that will allow them to gain a school-leaving certificate at the end of 2009.

A recent survey by the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) revealed that up to 75 percent of the 300,000 children who could sit their Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examinations in November had failed to register before the deadline.

PTUZ president Raymond Majongwe said exams had to be written in eight O-Level subjects at a fee of US$10 per subject, and in six A-Level subjects at a fee of US$15 each, which was simply beyond the means of most parents or guardians.

“The situation is terrible. Students learning in rural areas and on farm schools are the worst affected, with those coming from poor suburbs in urban areas accounting for a substantial amount of the victims,” Majongwe told IRIN.

The number of students who could not afford to write their examinations this year was “the highest in the history of the country” said a PTUZ statement.

Hyperinflation, widespread food shortages, cholera outbreaks and an almost year-long strike by teachers in 2008 led to the near total collapse of an education system already undermined by the economic and political crises besetting the country. The standard of learning has declined dramatically.

“We seem to be going back to the pre-colonial era, when education was a privilege of the rich elite – the poor are slowly being edged out, even though the goal should be to provide universal education,” Majongwe said.

No extension

The Minister of Education and Sport, David Coltart, said there would be no extension of the 25 September deadline for registering to write the exams because it would delay the existing timetable and affect the printing of question papers.

“I am deeply concerned because children have been denied the chance to sit for their final examinations after working hard for probably four or five years,” Coltart was quoted as saying by The Herald, an official newspaper.

Majongwe urged the government to allow all students to sit the examinations, “and then give them time to pay up, failure of which [would mean] their results should be withheld”.

A sign of deeper trouble

Public servants, including teachers, have been paid in foreign currency as a hedge against hyperinflation since the formation of the unity government in February 2009, which has brought back some stability to schooling, but there are still mountainous problems to be overcome.

“Zimbabwe’s education sector, once a model in Africa, continues to be riddled with challenges. Public financing of the sector declined significantly over the last decade, leaving most schools with no funds to purchase even the most basic teaching materials such as text books and stationery,” said a recent statement by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

It is not uncommon for 10 pupils to share a text book, and despite the government’s move to drastically slash school fees in February 2009, deepening poverty has meant that even the reduced cost of attending government schools in some areas had put education beyond the reach of thousands of children.

More and more have been dropping out: “Almost 50 percent of Zimbabwe’s children graduating from primary school were not proceeding to secondary school,” the UNICEF statement noted.

A school principal in Chitungwiza, a town about 30km south of Harare, the capital, told IRIN that 80 percent of the more than 1,000 students at his school had not paid fees since January.

“Of the hundred or so students who have paid to write their O-Level examinations, only 16 have registered for five subjects and above. Worse still, I don’t have any reason to believe that things will change for the better next year if the economy does not improve dramatically.”

Majongwe said although it was unlikely, he still hoped that part of the US$70 million Education Transition Fund unveiled by the government, UNICEF and the international donor community in mid-September would be used to rescue the stranded students.

Sunday News
By Lulu Brenda Harris
4th October 2009

This year’s public examinations are likely to be written as late as December because of printing problems, a Cabinet minister revealed last Thursday.

In an interview in Bulawayo, the Minister of Education, Spors, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, said his ministry had only recently engaged a firm that would print examination papers for both Ordinary and Advanced levels because of the extensions granted for payment of fees and those students who had registered were likely to write examinations in December.

He said the papers, that are being printed by a South African company, would only be ready after 35 days.

“We have engaged a South African company to print our examination papers. All along they have been waiting for us to send the exact number of candidates, which we only did last week on 28 September. The production and submission of the printed examination papers would only be done after 35 days,’’ said Senator Coltart.

Non-examination classes in Zimbabwean schools usually close during the first week of December for the Christmas holiday and examinations usually end late November marking the beginning of a long holiday for candidates. The Ministry last Friday extended the examination registration deadline to 16 October 2009.

Senator Coltart said the commencement of the examinations could be further delayed by logistics such as the distribution of the examination papers to their respective centres.

He also touched on last year’s problems, where examiners were not paid on time, compromising the entire examination process, and said that ghost still haunted public examinations.

“All these problems have compromised the usual examination deadline. Last year the markers did not get full allowances and that delayed the release of results,” said Senator Coltart.

Results of all public examinations written last year, from Grade Seven to Advanced Level, were only released late this year and the minister attributed this to logistical problems that plagued the examination board. Despite these challenges, Senator Coltart, however, assured candidates that his ministry was working flat out to avoid last year’s scenario where the quality of the examination results was poor.

“One hundred percent of last year’s candidates were prejudiced. I am desperate to avoid the same problems especially when 60 percent of those who sat for the examinations last year registered again this year. It’s not about achieving a 100 percent success rate but hoping to organise a 60 percent success rate as compared to a complete 100% failure last year to meet deadlines,” he said.

The Minister said for the country to maintain its integrity in the education sector, there was a need for precision in time limits, number of candidates that might be sitting for the examinations in that particular year and above all meeting deadlines.

“We have to establish precisely what subjects are registered for, number of examination centres and the number of candidates writing, so precision was needed before we could send the exact information to the printers in South Africa,” the Minister said.

Senator Coltart bemoaned the fact that this year they have had to extend registration deadline. The deadline for registering for examinations has always been in the first term for both June and November examinations.

Most parents and students are complaining that the registration and examination fees are too high. Ordinary Levels examinations fees are pegged at US$10 per subject and Advanced Level fees are US$20 per subject. Students have to pass five subjects at O Level to proceed to A Level or college and two subjects at A Level to proceed to university.

Sunday News
By Lulu Brenda Harris
4th October 2009

IN his tour of schools in Bulilima last Wednesday the 30th September 2009, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart came face to face with the brutal reality of decay in rural primary schools.

“The tour confirmed what I knew all along but it’s always shocking when you see the reality,” said Senator Coltart.

In all the primary schools visited, classrooms were roofless and without doors, the windows broken, the state of the toilets disgusting. There is a tremendous need to improve the dilapidating infrastructure.

The schools visited, Tjehanga Primary, Bambadzi Primary and Hingwe Primary lack proper buildings in the form of classrooms, have no writing equipment, and worse the teacher student ratio in some schools is one to 96.

“A survey which was done in the schools showed that the teacher pupil ratio is one to 96 and that is unacceptable. I will work with Provincial Education Directors (PEDs) to solve the problem affecting schools and make education the number one priority. We need to restore the profession of teaching to its past glory and restore community’s respect for teachers,” said Senator Coltart.

What is also of great concern is the tension between the school heads, teachers, the School Development Committees (SDCs) and the parents. The minister said there was a clear mistrust between these stakeholders and that could be one of the reasons why the schools are in that awful state.

“There is growing mistrust between parents who pay, teachers and SDCs. Parents don’t know how the levy money they pay is spent. Parents want to know how the money is spent,” said Senator Coltart.

It is clear that there is no communication between parents and the school authorities and that lack of communication has proved to be the beginning of the schools’ downfall.

“I encourage school heads and the SDCs to make information available about how money is used. I also want you to look at the composition of your SDCs. It’s very important that the SDC represents the whole parent body. The school heads must make available to parents a document relating to all fees so that parents can understand what is happening in the schools,” he said.

A classroom is supposed to be welcoming after all it is a second home from home but if it is empty, its walls bare, no chairs to sit on, no books to write on, it comes across as cold and it does not appeal to one who learns in it.

Education is a state of mind, one can digest information in an environment that is welcoming but if it is the opposite it impacts negatively on the student and teacher.

“We have to change our education system because it’s not been working. It’s no use for the children to go five days to school but get nothing as output,” Senator Coltart said.

Maybe before one talks about the classroom, one must mention the gruelling distance one has to walk in order to arrive at school. Schoolchildren walk long distances on roads that are even a nightmare for cars. They have to wake up before dawn in order to get to school on time then later on the sun sets before they are even home.
Some pupils say they get home around past eight to nine in the evening and they do that everyday.

“Bana bedu banofa nehala, banohwa muzila benda ngobe zwikolo kule nakanyi (Our children wake up before dawn to get to schools in time because their schools are far),” said Ms Laizah Ndebele.

It might be one of the reasons why there is a decline in the number of boys going to school as some prefer to cross the border into South Africa and Botswana to look for work.

Parents and the school authorities need to sit down and chart the way forward.

This might seem impossible considering the tempers that usually flare when they meet but a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

An SDC representative at Bambadzi Primary School said parents were not willing to pay school levies yet they expected the school to develop.

The Minister said one of the dilemmas faced by the ministry was that every child had a right to attend class yet on the other hand the school has to run.

“There is a provision that children must not be expelled for not paying levies then how can the school develop. This highlights the dilemma faced by the ministry. There is an obligation that children have to be educated yet on the other hand we have to make sure the schools have enough funds to run on,” he said.

If the government is to abide by that requirement, then parents must be willing to sacrifice for their children.

“School heads must not exclude the children but use all methods to make parents pay and parents I know you want the best for your children then you must be willing to provide for them,” said Senator Coltart.

He challenged parents to help maintain the schools as they are community institutions. “As parents I encourage you to treat your schools as community institutions. Treat your schools as you would your home. Within your community there are carpenters to help maintain the fabric of schools,” said Senator Coltart.

In an interview during a careers day held at Gwanda High School, which is also in Matabeleland South recently, the Headmaster, Mr Arthur Maphosa bemoaned the breakdown of infrastructure at the school.

“Our school was built in the year 1973, and ever since there has been no significant development, roads leading up to the school need urgent attention. the situation will be worsened by the approaching rain season,” said Mr Maphosa.

The school offers Advanced Level but there is a danger that A-level Science subjects could be struck off the curriculum, as the school does not have necessary facilities to teach the subjects.

A report compiled by the first post independence minister of education Mrs Fay Chung, former legislator Mrs Trudy Stevensons and Ms Sharai Chakanyuka titled The Rapid Assessment of Primary and Secondary Schools attributes the infrastructure situation to poverty in rural areas. The report says people in remote areas are poor and the majority cannot afford to pay levies, which can help in reviving the infrastructure.

“US$4 levy a term was unaffordable to the majority. Hence there was no money whatsoever for repairs,” says the report. This comes after an assessment of education in four provinces, which had a number of remote schools; Mashonaland East, Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland North.

Data from the four reports obtained through focus group discussions and site visits indicates the dilapidated state of primary schools. The report says the Rural District Councils — which were the official responsible authorities — appeared to have lost interest in these schools and were not providing any support whatsoever to the schools.

“Chitsungo Primary School in Mashonaland East had classrooms without doors and one without a roof. At Bubi Primary School in Masvingo classrooms comprised dilapidated pole and dagga blocks. Ndimimbili Primary School in Matabeleland North had support from UNICEF in 2003 for two new classrooms, and these were the only ones with furniture and in good condition. Somakonyane Secondary School in Matabeleland North had six classrooms, but was only using three. It was surprising to note that a fully functional primary school, Ndimimbili, with grossly inadequate infrastructure was a few hundred metres away from a half empty secondary school with unused classrooms,” says the report.

The primary schools visited had poor teachers’ houses. The teachers said they did not feel safe as doors could not be locked and the windows were broken.
“One teacher at Bubi Primary School was living in a roofless and doorless hut. There were no toilets for teachers and pupils in some of the schools visited, so they used the bush, creating a health hazard. The two houses that were available at Ndimimbili Primary School in Matabeleland North had to be shared by several teachers,” says the report.

Teachers at Bubi Secondary School in Masvingo were living in mud huts and six male teachers were sharing a single office room.The supply of textbooks in both primary and secondary schools is devastating.Books had not been purchased since 1999. In terms of furniture there was a general lack of equipment such as blackboards and chalk.

“In Mashonaland East, teachers had to take their children outside so that they could write on the ground. In Matabeleland North, except for the furniture provided by UNICEF, classrooms had little or no furniture, with pupils sitting on planks set on stones or on the floor. They had no writing places,” said the minister.
Despite all this parents have remained interested in the education of their children, as they have formed School Development Committees (SDCs).

“In Matabeleland North parents had eagerly gathered to meet the visiting team, as they valued the opportunity to speak to an authority on the situation at their schools.
However the parents did not understand what makes a good school as they were in constant battle with the teachers.

“In general parents did not understand the functions of their committee. Nor did they understand what constituted a “good” school: they judged a school to be good if teachers were present, as apparently there was a high degree of absenteeism from teachers. Parents wanted teachers who were frequently absent to be removed, but they had no power to do anything about it. There was apparent antipathy and even open antagonism between parents and teachers,” says the report.

A contributing factor to the bad conditions was lack of supervision. The ministry said all the remote schools reported lack of supervision that led to the high absenteeism and no disciplinary action was taken against the culprits.

This highlights the neglect of the remote rural schools and supervision at the highest level is required. The ministry has recommended that more varied forms of supervision must be devised.

“For example SDCs can be given the responsibility of checking on teacher and pupil presence and absenteeism, as this appears to be a very serious problem in all these schools,” says the report.

Therefore there is a great need to invest heavily in remote rural schools.

“Substantive promotions must be made expeditiously, with training programmes being instituted for the incumbents. A situation where only four out of 70 headships were filled in one district spells neglect and disaster. Supervision is essential, as it was apparent that these schools had been totally neglected for some years. The traditional forms of supervision requiring education officers travelling by car from the district office on very bad roads needs to be adjusted, more varied forms of supervision devised,” said the Minister.