The Herald
By Lloyd Gumbo
17th September 2009

Teachers’ unions have slammed the Prime Minister’s Office for allegedly running a “parallel Government” and rewarding civil servants perceived to be loyal to MDC-T with high salaries, with some labour representatives calling on President Mugabe to launch a commission of enquiry.

The outcry follows recent reports that the World Bank was paying salaries of as much as US$7 000 to staff in the PM’s Office when on average other civil servants were getting US$150.

Speaking in Gwanda last week, PM Morgan Tsvangirai told teachers to be patient with Government and should not expect the State to “squeeze blood out of a stone” to pay them and that all civil servants were getting the same salaries.

However, on Tuesday teacher representatives blasted the PM’s Office and called for equal treatment for all civil servants.

Zimta acting chief executive officer Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said the PM’s Office was “sowing discord in Government”.

“They are in this Government to administer one Government which rewards its employees equally without discriminating against others.

“We are not going to take off the foot from the pedal because there is evidence that Government can mobilise resources for us as proved by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“We cannot have other sections of the civil service being paid 20 times more than what others are getting. As far as we are concerned we are not going to be sympathetic because we see double standards in this Government.”

The Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe echoed similar sentiments, saying it was surprising that Government officials had told them that there was no money and yet funds had been mobilised for “a parallel Government”.

TUZ chief executive officer Mr Manuel Nyawo said: “We only requested for a substantial increment, but we were told that Government was financially constrained and yet they reward some civil servants on partisan lines.” Progressive Teachers’ Union secretary-general Mr Raymond Majongwe added his voice, saying the PM’s Office should not be seen to be favouring some employees.

“What is happening in the Prime Minister’s Office is unacceptable. We can’t have other civil servants earning more than others. We are toiling for the same Government, so we expect fairness from that Government. Politicians should be serious. They are paying lip service to our concerns while they are doing these things,” he said.

Mr Majongwe said they were awaiting clarification on the allegations and would make a statement once the facts were authenticated.

A faction of the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions said the “preferential treatment” was unacceptable.

In a Press statement yesterday, the faction’s acting secretary-general Mr Ephraim Tsvaringe said: “The union has learnt with utter disgust and indignation the reports that some officials in the Prime Minister’s Office are receiving preferential treatment in terms of salaries.”

Public Service Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro said he could not comment on issues to do with “my superiors, the President, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers’ Offices”. Minister Mukonoweshuro added that the Prime Minister would make a statement about the allegations.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart also said he could not comment because he knew nothing.

Mr Tsvaringe added: “While the majority of civil servants are earning US$150 per month others are being paid US$7 000. In this respect, we call on the authorities to conduct a commission of inquiry to unravel the facts and figures.

“Should this be established by the investigations then that would be fait accompli to confirm a parallel Government administration which can only be for a hidden agenda and invariably such a scheme can only be for a regime change; a stance which is treasonable and anathema to the sustenance of the inclusive Government.

“As a labour centre, we urge His Excellency the President to ask those responsible for such a fraudulent and unorthodox administrative practice to resign, failing which they should relinquish their duties.

“Their continued presence in the inclusive Government is a liability, which has serious political ramifications, a situation the country, can ill-afford.”

Mr Tsvaringe said the funds could be used to improve the welfare of all civil servants or be directed towards the revival of industry, which they said had been negatively affected by the illegal sanctions imposed by the West.

Afrik.com
Thursday 17 September 2009
By Alice Chimora

Government lawyers in Zimbabwe are earning “starvation wages” resulting in them compromising their professionalism. Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa said on average lawyers are earning US$300 per month. Teachers, meanwhile have been warned of salary freeze.

He said “Judges are being paid US$300 which to me is starvation wages and that undermine their morale”. Many lawyers, like other professionals have long left the country for greener pastures in Europe and countries within southern Africa due to deteriorating living conditions.

Added Chinamasa, “We know for a fact that in the justice delivery system there are no computers, the systems are not computerised and transport affects the whole system. These constraints have contributed to no meaningful supervision on performance of the judicial system currently taking place,” he said. However, he gave no indication of attempts to improve the working conditions only to admit that there is rampant corruption in the prosecution, magistracy and legal profession.

In 2007, magistrate and other judicial officers embarked on a strike, the first time since gaining independence from Britain in 1980 to press for more pay and improved working. The industrial action lasted for two months virtually paralysed operations at the magistrates courts throughout the country. Zimbabwe’s Judge President Rita Makarau has often criticised the government for undermining the judiciary by starving it of resources and reducing it to “begging for its sustenance”.

Teachers’ wages

Meanwhile, government has warned striking teachers that they would not be paid in October if they do not call off their industrial action. Teachers have been on strike since schools opened on 2 September for the third term demanding a salary increase and changes in working conditions.

Said Education Minister David Coltart, “I am sure they will be given this month’s salary but if the strike continues, the Public Service Commission will likely halt the payment in October. Obviously, the PSC can’t agree to pay workers who are not reporting for duty,” Coltart said the teachers should report for duty and assist Ordinary and Advanced Level pupils who will be sitting for public examinations next month.

IRIN
Thursday, 17 September 2009

HARARE – Donors have given Zimbabwe’s ailing education system a US$70 million boost in an attempt to reverse the rapid decline of a sector once regarded as the finest in sub-Saharan Africa.

The UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF), in partnership with the Zimbabwe unity government, will be distributing funds from donor countries that include Australia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission on behalf of the European Union.

Text books have become a rare commodity in schools – UNICEF estimates the ratio of text books to pupils at about one book to every 10 children – and teachers in the capital, Harare, said there were cases of 40 pupils sharing one text book at some schools.

The objective is to reach every child in Zimbabwe with a text book within 12 months”The objective … is to reach every child in Zimbabwe with a text book within 12 months. An assessment by the education advisory board has revealed that in about 20 percent of all primary schools there is not single text book for English, Mathematics or an African Language,” Peter Salama, the UNICEF representative in Zimbabwe, told IRIN.

“It is no surprise therefore that grade seven pass rates have declined from 53 percent in 1999 to 33 percent in 2007; almost 50 percent of primary school pupils are not going on to secondary schools.”

Widespread food shortages, cholera outbreaks, an almost year-long strike by teachers in 2008, the country’s economic meltdown and political violence have all contributed to the near total disruption of education.

The formation of the unity government in February 2009 returned some stability to the sector, with public servants, including teachers, being paid in foreign currency as a hedge against hyperinflation, but the path back to Zimbabwe’s golden age of education will be steep.

“Although enrolment has risen in 2009, there are many signs that quality education is eluding most children,” Salama said. “In addition, one in four children in Zimbabwe is an orphan, struggling to survive with little or no public social safety net or systematic access to social services.”

Health services also fell victim to the economic implosion, and in 2007 UNAIDS put national HIV prevalence at 15.3 percent, but shortages of antiretroviral drugs and medicines to treat opportunistic illnesses led to many AIDS-related deaths.

Two-pronged approach

The attempt to resuscitate the education system will take a two-pronged approach: the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), and the Educational Transition Fund (ETF), which will provide technical capacity to the ministry of education to disseminate text books.

“BEAM will help address the demand side, ensuring that over 700,000 of Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable children, including disabled children, are able to get to school,” said Salama.

Education Minister David Coltart said this was a major step forward, but industrial action by teachers could mar progress. “My most important task in restoring a basic education is to ensure … a body of motivated, committed and professional teachers … it does not matter how many educational materials we purchase, because [without teachers] children will continue to stagnate.”

16 September 2009
Zimeye

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart has acknowledged that Zimbabwe’s education sector still faces challenges although he has ‘tried’ his best to keep it working.

“When I took office in February I found the education sector in a calamitous state. That has been well documented and is known to you all. In many schools the only textbook is the one held by the teacher. In most government schools the ratio is no better than one to 15.

“The first task of the education transition fund will be to arrange for the printing of literally millions of textbooks with the objective of delivering the same to poorest and most needy schools during the first term of 2010,” Coltart said.

Coltart regrets the continued strike by teachers who for some schools have not been teaching in the last two years.

“I deeply regret the ongoing teachers strike and hope that an acceptable arrangement can be arrived at shortly to ensure that we get teachers back into classrooms countrywide will stop,” he said.

Coltart added, “During the last seven months I have done all in my power to seek funding to assist teachers who remain inadequately paid. Regrettably due to factors beyond my control I have been unable to secure such assistance.”

Teachers are persistently on strike since the beginning of the third term in the last fortnight.

Zimbabwe’s education sector, once a model in Africa continues to be riddled with serious challenges.

Public financing of the sector declined significantly over the last decade leaving schools with no funds to purchase basic teaching materials.

At the height of the political turmoil in Zimbabwe, teachers left the country in droves to in search of better working conditions.

President Robert Mugabe’s government has been blamed for the decline in the education sector in the last 10 years owing to miscued economic policies, while he blames the west for sanctions that he says have contributed to the collapse of the economy and social services. However, western governments have sighted unresolved issues in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement signed between the country’s three political parties to form an inclusive government.

16 September 2009
By Nqobizitha Khumalo
Zimonline

BULAWAYO – Zimbabwe’s education system that had shown signs of recovery is quickly sliding back to chaos because of a teachers’ strike that has crippled learning at public schools that reopened only six months ago after a new power-sharing government came into office.

The most crucial and final term of the year began more than two weeks ago but there has been very little or no learning taking place at public schools after the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), the largest of two unions representing teachers in the country, called a nationwide job boycott by teachers to press the coalition government to hike salaries.

The strike that began slowly when the new term began on September 2 appeared to gather pace this week with, for example, nearly 90 percent of public schools visited by ZimOnline reporters in Bulawayo and surrounding areas on Tuesday found with only a few senior teachers present or no one at all to teach or supervise children.

Many schoolchildren could be seen loitering at school grounds or nearby shopping centres in scenes reminiscent of 2008 when learners were left on their own as teachers went on strike or simply stayed at home because they could not afford bus fare to work on their meagre salaries.

Education Minister David Coltart, who has held several fruitless meetings with union leaders since the new term began, told ZimOnline that there was little he could do to get teachers back to classrooms, surrendering the task to the Ministry of Public Service that employs all government workers.

“The issue of the strike is not with me anymore,” said Coltart, who also pointed out that the work boycott by teachers had hit learning at most schools across the country.

ZIMTA president Tendai Chikowore said: “The strike is still on . . . the majority of our members are not reporting for duty in all provinces across the country.”

Chikowore, whose ZIMTA has about 40 000 members out of about 90 000 teachers at schools, said the union would meet next Friday to review the strike.

Officials from the smaller Progressive Teacher’s Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) were not immediately available for comment on the matter. The 20 000-member PTUZ has opposed the strike action although it is unclear whether the union’s members are actually reporting for work as directed by their leaders.

Private schools that pay teachers more than public schools are running normally across the country.
Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government between Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe has promised to revive the economy and restore basic services such as health and education that had virtually collapsed after years of recession.

But the failure by the administration– which says it requires a total US$10 billion to get Zimbabwe back on its feet again – to convince rich Western nations to release grants and soft loans has hampered its ability to sustain the recovery effort.

The administration that since its February formation had been paying all its workers a flat US$100-allowance per month last July hiked payments to between $155 and $200 per month depending on grade. Teachers’ salaries were raised to US$150, a sum they say should be increased to about $500 per month.

Patrick Moyo a teacher at a Bulawayo secondary school described his government salary as a “waste of time”.

Moyo said he was at school to teach students preparing for their final public examinations at the end of the year but he was asking each child to pay him 20 rands (about US$2.00) to attend lessons.

He said: “If government will not pay us then the students will have to pay for the lessons because we cannot toil for the whole month for just US$150, it is waste of time.”

Charity Aids Foundation
16th September 2009

Unicef has unveiled a £42 million partnership to secure quality education for children in Zimbabwe.
Collaborating with the UK and Zimbabwean governments, the charity hopes the money will be channelled into supporting more than 700,000 young people with high standards of teaching and classroom supplies such as textbooks.

A recent assessment found that there are ten pupils to every one textbook in the country, while 20 per cent (1,060) of schools have no access to books for English, Maths or language.

Senator David Coltart, Zimbabwe Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, said: “The education sector still faces numerous challenges, but the transition fund we launch today is a positive step towards the revival of the sector.

“It is extremely gratifying to see donors, governments and the UN come together to ensure quality education for Zimbabwe’s children.”

The education drive is also being supported by the governments of Australia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Some 85 per cent of Unicef staff work in developing countries, its website states.

REPORT ON THE STAKEHOLDERS CONFERENCE:
RAPID ASSESSMENT OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
Monday 14.09.09 at Prince Edward School

The Stakeholders Conference on the Board’s Report on the Rapid Assessment of Primary and Secondary Education was well attended by Ministry officials, Board members and some partners, but unfortunately it clashed with the launch of the Education Transition Fund, which attracted most of the donor community and media. Fortunately, the Minister and Permanent Secretary were able to join us for lunch and the afternoon.

Dr Goodwill Shana (Board member) gave the opening prayer, after which the Board thanked Mr Kevin Atkinson, Headmaster of Prince Edward School, for availing its excellent facilities for the Conference. The Board Chairman, Dr Isaiah Sibanda, gave the background to the Board’s formation and its first task, the Rapid Assessment exercise. Barbara Plinkert, Head of the EC Social Sector, highlighted the importance the EU attached to the education sector, which had been neglected recently in terms of donor support. Now they were scaling up their assistance again, put 7,5 million Euro into the Education Transition Fund and were supporting school fees for OVCs through the Programme of Support to BEAM. She reminded participants that universal primary education for all is our common goal, as reflected in the MDGs.

After tea, the Report team, Dr Fay Chung, Dr Sharayi Chakanyuka and Mrs Trudy Stevenson, gave an overview of their chapters and took questions and comments.

Discussion:

Concerning poor examination results, it was suggested that the examination system itself needed review, while it was generally agreed that “the politicization of schools, particularly during 2008, has been the greatest injury to the education system.” PTUZ warned that only professionals were qualified to supervise teachers, not communities, while it was felt that the role parents played in keeping the education system alive should be recognized. It was proposed that a thorough study be undertaken on remote schools, and that the attrition rate of 196,000 per annum, meaning that 48% of never go to secondary school, required serious attention. The quality of resources, in particular water, at schools was cause for great concern. Regarding the alarming teacher-pupil ratio of 1:90 in Matabeleland South, the PED responded that they were still looking for children with 5 O levels to teach locally, particularly in the remote schools, but they could not be found. Ministry officials complained that because they were not teachers, they did not receive incentives.

Full Report

After lunch participants broke into groups to study and discuss the full report. Highlights from their report-back on recommendations were as follows:

Chapter 2: Teachers housing should be provided as an incentive, while government should engage industry for scholarships, particularly for girls. Government should implement the Nziramasanga Commissions recommendation on vocational training.
Chapters 3 & 4: There should be a time frame for teachers’ incentives. Ministry should engage partners about compensation to victims of the violence in 2008. There should be an independent body responsible for teachers’ promotion.
Chapters 5, 6 and 7: Groups generally agreed with the findings and recommendations. It was however felt that all teachers should have some special education training, and that vulnerable children should be supported for all their needs (food, clothes, transport, child care, etc), not only school fees.
Textbooks: The Curriculum review is long overdue, in addition to which government should promote e-learning.
SDCs: It was recommended that the Head be the accounting officer, however there was heated debate over length of tenure of members, the group recommending only one year but many participants disagreed and thought 2 years was preferable.

The Minister, Senator David Coltart, responded to the discussion by thanking everyone and undertaking to build consensus within the Ministry and in Cabinet, among all three political parties, on the recommendations. Concerning free primary education, he felt there is need for balance in order to assist those who genuinely cannot afford fees, while involving parents in their children’s education. He undertook to make the Nziramasanga Report public, and asked the Board to make the Rapid Assessment Report widely available and publish it on internet.

Concerning Chapter 3 (teachers), he explained that the anticipated increase in national revenue from July’s $96 million had not transpired, while processing the amnesty was taking a long time because only the Permanent Secretary was authorized to deal with the matter. He felt that insufficient emphasis was put on the need for curriculum review in Chapter 4, and that a strong recommendation should be made for partner support for that process. For Chapter 5 he believed that parents should be involved in the issue of school fees and levies, and that school heads should inform parents of the amounts received for BEAM and how funds had been spent or would be spent. Concerning Chapter 6, he felt that the BEAM and Means Test processes should be localized and refined, while regarding Chapter 7, he noted that the proposed Academies of Excellence should also cater for children with disabilities. On Chapter 8, he called for promotion of a reading culture in the nation, as well as the nurturing of a spirit of inquiry and debate within the school system. Regarding examinations and ZIMSEC, he stated that it remains government’s intention to retain ZIMSEC, but acknowledged the loss of public confidence and would be looking at ways to rebuild that confidence.

He announced that the Education Transition Fund had been pledged $70 million this year: 30 million for textbooks, plus $20 million for BEAM and another $30 million in the pipeline. However, he was concerned that education is not government’s top priority, whereas in the 1980’s education had been allocated 22% of the national budget. He undertook to continue his efforts to rebuild and improve our education sector, to make it once more the finest in Africa.

The Conference ended with participants requesting more copies of the Report to take to their respective areas, and calls for more research and debate following on from the Rapid Assessment.

15 September 2009
The Zimbabwe Telegraph
By Gertrude Gumede

ZIMBABWE – HARARE – Teachers will not get their October salaries if they continue with the strike, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, won Tuesday.

Coltart said the teachers would get this month’s salaries but risked being scratched from next month’s payroll if they do no call off the job action.

Teachers have been on strike since schools opened on 2 September for the third term demanding a salary increase and changes in working conditions.

“I am sure they (teachers) will be given this month’s salary but if the strike continues, the Public Service Commission will likely halt the payment. Obviously, the PSC can’t agree to pay workers who are not reporting for duty,” said Coltart.

He urged the teachers to go back to work immediately to allow smooth negotiations to proceed between the Government and teachers’ unions.

Coltart said the teachers should report for duty and assist Ordinary and Advanced Level pupils who will be sitting for examinations next month.

“Children are suffering as a result of the strike. The strike has catastrophic effects on the pupils who are sitting for the final examinations. I’m deeply concerned about the effects of the strike on the country’s education system. In fact teachers have an obligation to go to the classroom and work,” he said.

Coltart expressed sympathy with the teachers’ situation but emphasised that there was nothing the Government could do to improve teachers’ salaries because the Treasury had no money.

He said efforts to source funding from the international donor community had not yielded positive results.

“Our hands are tied because we have no money but at the same time the children are suffering. However, as a way forward we will continue negotiating with the teachers,” said Coltart.

“No one should think that the Government hid some money somewhere, we should be transparent and tell each other that there is no money. Finance Minister (Tendai) Biti and I have been working hard to get the money but donors are not forthcoming.”

The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) national executive will meet before the end of the week to discuss whether to call off the on-going strike.

15 September 2009
The Herald

Harare — Government in conjunction with Unicef and some international donors yesterday unveiled a US$70 million fund under the Educational Transition Fund to revitalise the Basic Education Assistance Module.

The programme is meant to ensure access to quality education by all underprivileged schoolchildren. The funds will see school fees being paid for over 700 000 vulnerable children, provide textbooks and stationery to improve capacity for the education sector.

The donor community has already pledged over US$30 million needed for the transition fund and has also agreed to reallocate US$20 million more to BEAM. Speaking at the launch of the scheme in Harare yesterday, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart expressed gratitude for the support offered by the donor community.

He said it was a positive step towards the revival of the education sector. “The education sector faces a number of challenges, but it is gratifying to see Government, donors and the United Nations coming together to ensure quality education for the children.

“As a Government, we are grateful and encouraged,” said Minister Coltart. Of the US$70 million, he said US$50 million would go towards ITF, which will address the supply side issues through a massive textbook drive and technical support.

Minister Coltart said the remaining US$20 million would address the demand side, ensuring that Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable children, including those who are disabled were able to get to school.
Minister Coltart said some of the funds would be used to print millions of textbooks for primary and secondary schools.

“This exercise will go a long way in restoring acceptable ratios in most Government schools though a lot of work needs to be done before we get to our objective of establishing a one is to one ratio,” he said.

He, however, stressed that restoration of basic education would be achieved if the ministry had a body of motivated, committed and professional teachers whom, he said, were the building block, which was fundamental to the development of the nation.

“Without such a body, it does not matter how many education materials we purchase because children will continue to stagnate. I deeply regret the ongoing teachers’ strike and hope that an arrangement can be arrived at shortly to ensure that we get teachers back into classrooms,” he added.

Speaking at the same occasion, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paurina Mpariwa said her ministry would administer the US$20 million provided by the donors in a professional manner so that all vulnerable children benefited.

“We will make sure that everyone who is supposed to benefit gets something and the Government has already started sensitising stakeholders on the resuscitation of BEAM through provincial workshops,” she said.

She said the funds, though insufficient, would at least ensure access to education by vulnerable children and was hopeful that the Government and its partners would continue to mobilise financial resources for the benefit of the nation.

“BEAM requires about US$35 million to cover every child and this donation has surpassed the half way mark thereby reducing our burden as Government, but we must not stop here.

“We must continue to look for funds if the dream of achieving education for all is ever to be accomplished,” said Minister Mpariwa.

United Kingdom Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mark Canning, European Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe Xavier Marchal, senior government officials, local councillors and some school heads attended the event.

15 September 2009
AP

HIGHFIELD, Zimbabwe — Stinking waste flows into the yard from the classroom toilets of B Block. Teachers hold lessons in the shade of trees outside: Much of the schoolroom furniture is piled into heaps of broken wood.

Mutasa junior school was once the pride of this teeming impoverished township in western Harare. Now signs in shaky children’s writing on the walls tell visitors: “No books, no learning; No table and chair for teacher. Please help.”

A year after President Robert Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, making him prime minister, the children at Mutasa school have little to celebrate.

“If my parents had money I could go to a better school,” writes one child in a poem on the bulletin board who signs himself off as “Sad Boy.”

Another child says: “Our naked feet are full of blisters.”

The United Nations children’s fund estimates that an average of 10 Zimbabwean children share a single text book and some schools have no books at all. Almost half of junior school children don’t go on to senior school.

In one of the biggest donor programs in the past five years, UNICEF and Western donors on Monday unveiled a $70 million program to get children back into class. The program aims to provide a text book for every child in the country’s 5,300 junior schools and will target 700,000 absentee children from the most impoverished and vulnerable communities.

Education Minister David Coltart, a former opposition leader, estimates about $1 billion is needed to rebuild and re-equip schools across Zimbabwe.

“As shocking as it seems,” he said, Mutasa school “is far better off than many.”

Years of political and economic turmoil brought Zimbabwean education services — once a model in the region — to a near standstill in 2008, depriving millions of children of schooling.

Hundreds of rural schools shut down as teachers fled assaults and harassment after the disputed March 2008 presidential election that later led to the power-sharing agreement. Many schools were vandalized and had doors, windows and even roofs stolen, Coltart said. The upcoming rainy season is expected to disrupt teaching outdoors.

“We have lost a year. If we don’t get adequate resources in a year or two we will have lost a whole generation. This is the tragedy. Our children should be our absolute priority,” Coltart said.

Since the coalition government was formed in February after six months of bickering, teachers have staged sporadic strikes over pay.

“We don’t have the money. The government has a dearth of resources” fueled by international skepticism over the implementation of the deal, Coltart said.

Joe Mbadzi, an Highfield councilor for Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party, said that parents of Mutasa school children also battled to raise money for fees and top-up “incentives” for teachers. At least 100 pupils dropped out this term.

Mugabe blames Western sanctions for Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown and insists those measures have blocked national reconstruction. Western nations argue that democratic, constitutional and media reforms promised in the power-sharing agreement have not gone far enough for them to restore traditional ties with the former British colony Mugabe led to independence in 1980.

“If we are to restore our once fine education system, we have to work hard and as a matter of urgency to remove the skepticism,” Coltart said.

A child’s drawing pinned up at Mutasa school shows a teacher with a down-curled mouth and lists payments for food, housing and commuter transport far outstripping his monthly government salary of $150 (104 euros) — the reason given officially for teacher absenteeism.

“This is just but unbearable,” the grim-faced teacher in the child’s drawing says.