David Coltart Blog – In praise of NoViolet Bulawayo

By David Coltart

16 October 2013

NoViolet Bulawayo got rave reviews last night when the BBC interviewed literary critics prior to the award of the Man Booker Prize. In fact the one person interviewed, when asked who he thought would win, said NoViolet Bulawayo.

NoViolet did not win the Prize last night but she has taken the world by storm. I recently finished reading her book, “We need new Names”, and it is not only a very powerful literary work but, perhaps more importantly from a Zimbabwean perspective, is a stunning review and expose of so much of the abuse which has taken place in Zimbabwe during the last few decades. Although it is written from the perspective of a child, its simplicity and directness enables her to tackle issues like Gukurahundi, Murambatsvina, child abuse, the universality of human rights abuses, corruption, the terrible destruction of families and the corrosive effects of pornography in a compelling and poignant manner.

Some of my favourite lines:

1. Talking about corruption and Chinese “investment” in Zimbabwe –
“Look at that drum of a stomach, it’s like he has swallowed a country”.

2. On “land reform” and Murambatsvina –

“And like that, they mourned perished pasts. There were some who appeared speechless, without words, and for a long while they walked around in silence, like the returning dead. But then with time, they remembered to open their mouths. The voices came back like tiptoeing thieves in the dark, and this is what they said:
They shouldn’t have done this to us, no, they shouldn’t have. Salilwelilizwe leli, we fought to liberate this country. Wasn’t it like this before independence? Do you remember how the whites drove us from our land and put us in those wretched reserves? I was there, you were there, wasn’t it just like this?
No, those were evil white people who came to steal our land and make us paupers in our own country.
What, but aren’t you a pauper now? Aren’t these black people evil for bulldozing your home and leaving you with nothing now?
You are all wrong. Better a white thief do that to you than your own black brother. Better a wretched white thief.
It’s the same thing and it isn’t. But what’s the use, we are here now. Here in Paradise with nothing. And they had nothing, except of course memories, their own and those passed down by their mothers and mothers mothers. The nation’s memory.”

3. On the universality of human rights abuses and their consequences –

” The others spoke languages we did not know, worshipped different gods, ate what we would not dare touch. But like us, they had left their homelands behind. They flipped open their wallets to show us faded photographs of mothers whose faces bore the same creases of worry as our very own mothers, siblings bleak-eyed with dreams unfulfilled like those of our own, fathers forlorn and defeated like ours. We had never seen their countries but we knew about everything in those pictures; we were not altogether strangers.”

Sadly I suspect that because it is such a searing indictment of so much that has gone wrong in our beloved Zimbabwe, NoViolet Bulawayo will not get the accolades she deserves at home. But one thing is clear – she has made a profound mark on the literary world and in that has demonstrated the enormous talent Zimbabwe has.

Amhlophe NoViolet Bulawayo.

The Zimbabwean

By Edgar Gweshe

16 October 2013

Government needs to urgently address the issue of teachers’ salaries to improve the education sector, a former cabinet minister has said.

Former education minister David Coltart, in an interview with The Zimbabwean, said plans by his successor to raise standards in education needed to be complemented by a salary review for teachers.

Lazarus Dokora, Coltart’s former deputy and now the minister, has pledged to improve infrastructure in schools, teacher training, the supply of learning materials, and working conditions for teachers and their support staff.

Coltart said the establishment of a vibrant education sector hinged on the manner in which government responded to the issue of wages and working conditions.

“Teachers’ salaries are very critical as far as this is concerned. We have to pay the teachers better salaries and I am glad that the government is aware of this. We need to have attractive salaries for teachers and that should be the principal aim of the government,” said Coltart. “However, I need to say that these policies outlined by the Ministry were agreed to in the medium-term plan and I am glad that the Ministry has continued with these policies.”

Teachers’ unions say they are talking to the government about a salary review and other concerns. Teachers earn around $400, which is $140 below the poverty threshold for Zimbabwe.

During the last decade, Zimbabwe has lost an estimated 20,000 teachers to neighbouring countries because of poor salaries and unfavourable conditions of service.

Coltart said it was imperative that the government relaxed the re-admission criteria for teachers coming back into the profession.

Unions last week told The Zimbabwean that some teachers wanting to come back to the profession were having to wait as long as two years because of the stringent conditions for their re-admission.

“There have been problems with the Public Service Commission, which applied quite stringent criteria. In 2009, I declared an amnesty to get teachers back, and that worked. We had about 15,000 teachers who came back to the profession. I am not sure whether we might need another amnesty now, but we have to revise the re-admission conditions,” said Coltart.

Southern Eye

By Luyanduhlobo Makwati

16 October 2013

THE Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) was yesterday ducking and diving over the unfolding controversy surrounding the Grade 7 Ndebele public examination paper which contained bad language as choruses grow for the government to institute a probe into the scandal.

Several calls to Zimsec headquarters by Southern Eye seeking clarification were spurned for a second consecutive day.

Alex Charidza, a public relations officer at Zimsec in Harare, promised to provide details on what actually transpired, but failed to do so by the time of going to print yesterday.

“I will get back to you, give me 15 minutes, I will give you a comment now,” Charidza said yesterday afternoon, before cutting his phone off.

Some senior provincial education officers in Matabeleland, where the exam was written on Friday, shockingly revealed to Southern Eye that they had not seen the offensive Ndebele paper.

Mathius Luphahla, the deputy provincial education director for Matabeleland North responsible for primary schools, said he had not seen the paper, saying he was in Binga.

“I haven’t seen the paper because last week Friday, I was in Binga discharging some of my duties in the ministry. I cannot shed more light on the issue because I haven’t seen the paper,” Luphahla said.

But former Education minister David Coltart called for an investigation into the saga, adding that it would be surprising if Zimsec had not consulted education officers from Matabeleland before the exam was set.

“It’s an oversight. It’s regrettable, but I’m sure it will be sorted out in due course. An investigation is needed on how this crept in,” Coltart said.

“But I don’t think it was done deliberately to undermine Ndebele as a language. An investigation will be a proper thing to do because it is important for the language to be correct, not only for the sake of the children, but for the integrity and heritage of the Ndebele language.”

Veteran educationist and language specialist Reverend Paul Damasane condemned the examiners saying the paper should have been well-moderated so that it portrays the true reflection of the Ndebele-speaking communities.

Damasane said if the Ndebele Grade 7 paper failed to address this, it meant that the culture of the Ndebele people would be compromised.

Umthwakazi youth leaders took a swipe on the country’s examining body.

Mqondisi Moyo, spokesperson of the group, said Zimsec must explain its actions.

“It’s so sad that the ministry (of Education) is assisting these people who are trying to assassinate Ndebele as a language and what they are doing is not good and we will not condone it,” Moyo said.

“The behaviour of these examiners is very chaotic and it cannot be replicated anywhere on earth.”

By David Coltart

14 October 2013

Thank God for Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He is now campaigning that African States should not withdraw from the International Criminal Court. For all the problems associated with this relatively new body an African pull out would be disastrous for international justice. Whilst all the tyrants of the world will be exultant it will mean that despots like Charles Taylor can act with impunity in future.

Zimbabwe has not joined the ICC and in the Zanu PF mouthpiece the Herald this morning it is stated that it “is not party to the treaty on the strength of its deep-rooted belief in domestic legal systems”. Of course that is Zanu PF’s “deep rooted belief in domestic legal systems” not the people of Zimbabwe’s belief in those “domestic systems”. Zanu PF led the charge against the SADC Tribunal so domestic does not clearly mean African or even Southern African courts – it means our courts within Zimbabwe. It is these courts which have been hand picked for decades and the vast majority of judges have received farms and are clearly aligned to Zanu PF. It is no wonder that Zanu PF has this deep rooted belief in their own judges because they know that that “domestic system” will perpetuate impunity in Zimbabwe.

The beloved “Arch” is right on the money when he says: “Far from being anti-African the ICC’s chief prosecutor, vice-president and five of its judges are Africans and its interventions have saved countless lives in Africa. Those who fear being prosecuted by the ICC should not be allowed to lead Africa by the nose”.

http://www.herald.co.zw/tutu-fights-african-pullout-from-icc/

Southern Eye

By Southern Eye Reporter

13 October 2013

THE GOVERNMENT has no plans to give victims of Gukurahundi decent burials because it runs the risk of including people who do not deserve the privilege, Home Affairs deputy minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said.

The Zanu PF minister made the remarks during a question and answer session in the Senate on Thursday after MDC-T senator Dorothy Khumalo asked if the government would extend its programme to rebury remains of people who died during the liberation war to victims of the Gukurahundi genocide.

“There are remains of people who fought in the war and they have not been buried properly,” Khumalo said.

“I would think if that is done, similarly there are remains of people who died during the Gukurahundi which have not been buried properly. I hope we are also going to think about them and bury them properly.”

However, Ziyambi said burying victims of the massacres, some who were thrown into mine shafts in Matabeleland and the Midlands would be problematic.

“The problem we have is that we have a case whereby we are going to bury people whose cause of death we are not aware of,” he said.

“We will run into the problem whereby we even bury people who are not supposed to be buried by the State.

“This is quite a difficult question because when we are following this reburial programme, we have to follow the channels set up by the government. We have to follow the criteria required for the people to be reburied, people with a specific history.”

Human rights groups say up to 20 000 people were killed by the North Korea-trained 5th Brigade in Matabeleland and the Midlands soon after independence.

President Robert Mugabe refused to apologise for the mass killings saying dissidents should also be held accountable.

Mugabe once described the genocide as a moment of madness.

Meanwhile, Ziyambi blamed the poor state of provincial and district heroes’ acres across the country on sanctions imposed by the West.

He was responding to a question by former Matabeleland North governor Sithokozile Mathuthu who asked what the government was doing about the poor state of the shrines.

“I have realised that the Lupane heroes’ acres and other heroes’ acres in that area have not been constructed, and accorded the proper dignity that they deserve to have,” she said. “You find that livestock move around even on the graves.”

The deputy minister said the sanctions were to blame for the poor state of the shrines.

“We have been in problems and we seem to be sneaking out of these problems, but the problem we face is that we were living in the period of sanctions,” Ziyambi said.

“We know that if the sanctions are removed we will be able to get enough money so that we could work on all the projects which we were set out to do including care which should be given to the heroes acres nationwide.”

Former Education minister David Coltart last month warned that Zanu PF would start blaming everything that goes wrong in the country on the embargo imposed on Mugabe and his inner circle.

Coltart urged the Western countries to lift the sanctions and deprive Zanu PF a scapegoat for failed policies.

News Day

By Tawanda Tafirenyika

10 October 2013

THE Zifa disciplinary Committee has set October 17, 2013 as the date for the hearing of Harare City Football Club chairman Leslie Gwindi over allegations of bringing the game into disrepute following utterances he allegedly made at a Bulawayo Press club in March this year.

The charges against Gwindi, who challenged Zifa president Cuthbert Dube in the last election, comes five months before the next elections set for March next year.

Zifa lawyer Ralph Maganga said yesterday papers to call Gwindi to the disciplinary hearing were ready by Friday and summons would be sent to Gwindi this week.

Maganga said summons should be served 72 hours before the hearing takes place according to the statutory instrument.

“The prosecutor of the Disciplinary Committee advised me that the papers were ready by Friday and that the Disciplinary Committee agreed on the date. Summons will be served this week. They should be served 72 hours before the date of the hearing,” Maganga said.

The former Premier Soccer League (PSL) and Dynamos secretary is alleged to have launched an attack on Zifa, the PSL, former Warriors coach Klaus-Dieter Pagels and Delta Beverages —the sponsors of the league.

The PSL is said to have been riled by Gwindi whose utterances they said had caused discomfort between them and the sponsors.

The PSL allegedly wrote to Zifa asking them to take action since he is a PSL governor and also because his comments also attacked the soccer mother body.

Zifa, in their correspondence to Gwindi, is also said to have indicated that the Harare City chairman had “insulted’’ the then Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart.

Part of the letter reads: “On the 8th of March 2013 and at Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel, the respondent unlawfully and intentionally committed an act of misconduct likely to bring the game into disrepute by using bad and insulting language while addressing various media practitioners and other invited guests at the Bulawayo Press Club in that you insulted the Zifa leadership saying that the leaders elected do not know anything about football and the current collapse is a result of total lack of leadership. The leaders (meaning Zifa board and councilors) are in football for egos, personal agendas or political reasons.’’

The statements, Zifa also said, were “in fact intended to cause alarm and despondency so that the game becomes ungovernable much to the detriment of football in Zimbabwe’’.

The soccer controlling body also alleged that Gwindi had insulted Delta Beverages, who sponsor the PSL through their Castle Lager brand.

“You insulted the PSL sponsors, Delta Beverages more specifically Castle Breweries by calling its sponsorship of the league peanuts and a result of those irresponsible statements Castle Breweries have threatened to cancel the sponsorship deal it signed with PSL.

“The statements were made to scare away corporate sponsors from the game so that the PSL and Zifa leadership is seen in bad light by the football loving public.

“You insulted the senior men national team coach Pagels by calling him a tourist to Zimbabwe not capable of coaching football. You further described his appointment as a joke which shows lack of brains on the part of the complainant’s current leadership.

“Pagels was in Zimbabwe on a government to government agreement and his upkeep is borne by the German government using tax payers’ money.

“You clearly breached protocol by rubbishing the coach’s appointment and calling him a tourist who is in Zimbabwe on holiday to enjoy the sunshine, the world famous Victoria Falls and other tourist attractions.

“You did show lack of respect for the Zimbabwean and German governments’ efforts in the development of football in the country,” charged Zifa.

Daily News

By Lloyd Mbiba 

9 October 2013

HARARE - David Coltart, the former Education minister, has praised President Robert Mugabe for prioritising practical subjects in the education curriculum, saying it was long overdue.

This comes as Mugabe has been forced to explain that  his new controversial minister of State for Liaising on Psychomotor Activities in Education was tasked with reviving practical subjects in schools to equip pupils with “life skills.”

Coltart told the Daily News yesterday that Mugabe was spot-on in giving primacy to vocational training, as this was a missing link in the educational sector.

“I am very pleased that the president is prioritising practical subjects. I tried reviewing the education curriculum when I was still a minister but there was no political will to support my efforts,” Coltart said.

“I am now happy that Mugabe is providing this political will. His position on practical subjects is very correct and important because the issue was one which faced the Education sector.”

He said although the ministry of State for Liaising on Psychomotor Activities in Education has an important mandate, he felt that mandate could have been housed under the ministry of Education.

“If you look closely, my ministry was split into three and this drains resources. As a nation we could have done with one ministry,” Coltart said.

The appointment of Josiah Hungwe, a longtime Mugabe loyalist, as the Psychomotor minister in an already bloated Cabinet had Zimbabweans reaching for their dictionaries to learn a term for coordination between the mind and body.

Even Hungwe was unable to describe his job and asked for more time to reply in a Parliament question and answer session after he had been in the post for three weeks. He could not tell lawmakers what he had been doing at work in that time, records of the session show.

In an interview with a local daily, Mugabe described the need to promote what he called psychomotor skills that would help procure jobs for less academically-gifted students.

Hungwe would work alongside the main ministries of Education and Science and Technology, he said.

“We will have to co-opt quite a number of educational experts working under the minister of State without disorganising the smooth running of schools,” Mugabe said.

Coltart said the government should continue prioritising vocational training because it contributes to economic success.

“The long-term sustainable development and stability of Zimbabwe is dependent on us restoring excellence to education and, importantly, in making it relevant to the future needs of our nation,” Coltart said.

“Whilst we will always need doctors, lawyers, teachers and accountants we also desperately need good mechanics, farmers, electricians and computer technicians — that will only happen when our education system is geared to train children with those practical skills and talents — and that in turn will only happen when there is a better balance in the curriculum between academic and vocational subjects.”

SW Radio Africa

By Nomalanga Moyo

8 October 2013

ZANU PF has been accused of “playing the sympathy card” in the ongoing diplomatic tiff over the perceived humiliation of Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi in Washington last week.

The ‘humiliation’ involved Mumbengegwi being forced to go through airport security like all other ordinary passengers, despite applying for the VIP service from the US Department of State, which was reportedly granted.

However, officers at the airport entrance claimed that they had no instructions to extend any diplomatic privileges to the minister and treated him as a common traveller, subjecting him to a thorough body search.

Following the incident, the government last week summoned American envoy to Zimbabwe, Bruce Wharton, to explain this “degrading experience.”

“We have called him for explanations,” Joey Bimha, secretary for Foreign Affairs, told the Daily News newspaper Monday.

Other ZANU PF officials are already calling for retaliatory treatment on the US deputy assistant secretary of State for African Affairs, who is expected in Zim next week.

But observers have dismissed this as just talk. Political commentator Rejoice Ngwenya said he did not understand why Mumbengegwi would expect preferential treatment anyway.

“Personally I believe there is nothing really special about a foreign affairs minister. These diplomatic privileges are just fringe benefits that are extended to these officials that don’t really mean much.

“We know that there is bad blood between Zimbabwe and the US and this is just an extension of that narrative especially after what Mugabe said at the UN meeting and the US’s refusal to recognise the outcome of the July 31^st elections.

“This is just public relations for the Zim government who are playing the sympathy card and trying to find any reason to poke the American government,” Ngwenya said.

He added that the government should be strengthening its engagement efforts with the West rather than making headlines with trivial complaints about being treated as commoners.

Former education minister David Coltart shared Ngwenya’s sentiments and in a post on his Facebook Wall, said: “Not sure what all the fuss is about here – as a Minister I always went through security checks at foreign airports.”

The Standard

By Caiphas Chimhete

6 October 2013

CORRUPTION involving teachers, school development associations (SDAs) and ministry officials has rocked the education sector, seriously compromising the quality of the country’s once revered education system.

A report, Framing Corruption in Education — Global Trends, released recently by Transparency International (TI) — says corruption in education was among the significant barriers to attaining Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and realising the universal right to education.

An investigation by The Standard last week established some teachers, headmasters and ministry officials were living large from proceeds of corruption, capitalising on weak, or absence of, monitoring mechanisms by the education ministry.

The most common forms of corruption rampant in Zimbabwe include demanding bribes to facilitate admission to schools or colleges as well as to obtain favourable grades.

The embezzlement of public funds intended for teaching, school materials and the diversion of resources for personal benefit is another form of the corruption.

Corruption is also rampant in procurement of furniture or in recruitment procedures as well as issuing of fake qualifications by some colleges resulting in unskilled teachers getting employed for a fee.

“When access to education or its quality suffers, the potential of individuals, communities and nations is squandered,” says the TI report. “Corruption in the education sector is a key reason why such waste occurs.”

The TI report noted that people paid bribes in the education sector in countries such as Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Turkey, Kenya and Afghanistan among other countries.

However, observations by TI are not very different from the situation obtaining in the Zimbabwe. Investigations by The Standard also established that headmasters and SDA members were looting incentives meant for teachers.

At one school in Kuwadzana in Harare, the headmaster deducts or withholds money a teacher is supposed to get if he/she fails to come to work on time. The money that would have been deducted is unaccounted for as no one asks for fear of victimisation.

Some headmasters also inflate amounts they present to provincial education offices as incentives they give to teachers when in actual fact the teachers would be getting far less.

“They (headmasters) send figures that they are giving each teacher US$300 per month when he or she would be giving them US$200,” said one teacher with a Harare school. “The headmaster would then pocket the difference. It’s very common.”

One Ministry of Education official said the issue of extra lessons had also bred corruption as teachers no longer teach during normal working hours.

“They now concentrate on pupils who paid for extra lessons where they get additional money,” he said.

This has disadvantaged pupils from poor families as they cannot afford to pay additional money, thereby defeating the government’s policy of education for all.

“For example, our children were ordered to attend extra lessons during last holidays with each pupil paying US$15 and there are three classes of about 40 each,” said one disgruntled parent who stays in Kambuzuma.

“When the schools opened this term, each child required extra lessons for US$2 a week, which means they raked over US$3 000 in less than two months. The figure might seem small but remember these are poor people who are being robbed.”

The Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) confirmed there was rampant corruption in the education sector.

PTUZ national coordinator, Ladislous Zunde said it was difficult to weed out corruption in the sector because some teachers and headmasters were getting protection from Ministry of Education officials in return for kick-backs.

In the past, district and education officials would demand bribes of between US$300 and US$500 to facilitate transfers of teachers to better areas or to get a job, he said. The recruitment and deployment of teachers has since been put under the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

“It is now a known fact that some district and provincial education officials are protecting corrupt headmasters and SDAs that swindled schools for a fee,” said Zunde. “There are certain schools that have become cash cows for the officials. Despite there being evidence that money is being stolen investigations are done cosmetically so that no detail of fraud or chicanery is found.”

It also emerged that most headmasters and SDAs inflated amounts when buying school property and would get “kick-backs” from the suppliers.

In one incident, a headmaster at one school in in Harare bought a second-hand bus for about US$70 000 but independent investigations revealed that bus was valued at approximately US$45 000.

Three years ago, a headmistress with another Harare school claimed that she had spent US$19 000 to repair an old truck, an amount more than the value of the vehicle itself.

Auditors from the Ministry of Education found that the headmistress was stealing from the school and recommended her arrest “but up to now she is still there and getting protection from ministry officials,” said Zunde.

Former education minister, David Coltart also conceded there was corruption in the education sector.

Coltart said he received between 70 and 80 reports of corruption in schools last year. The country has about 109 000 teachers and 8 500 primary and secondary schools.

“I believe there are bad and good eggs in the sector but the vast majority are good eggs.”

Although, The Standard could not obtain the official number, several headmasters and teachers were arrested last year for misusing school funds and writing examinations for pupils and students.

A Bulawayo educationist, who requested anonymity, said as long as there were no regular audits and teachers were poorly paid, corruption in the education sector would remain a major problem.

“They need to be well paid,” he said. “What they are doing are survival tactics. How can a family of six survive on US$400?”

Education minister, Lazarus Dokora yesterday also expressed concern about cases of corruption in education, especially among SDAs.

Speaking at a gathering to mark the World Teachers’ Day, Dokora said school funds were not being handled properly.

“We are deeply concerned about rampant corruption within SDAs and as a ministry we want to reiterate that corruption will be stamped out,” he said. “As part of stern action against corruption, we are refocusing the way we do things so that there is accountability.”

He said suggestion boxes will soon be availed providing parents the opportunity to report “any corrupt incidences.”

TI says corruption undercuts the investment made by society in the education of its future citizens.

“The societal investment fails when some are allowed to succeed without merit, swelling the ranks of incompetent leaders and professionals, while others with intellectual capacity cannot realise their potential to learn not because they cannot master the curriculum but because they cannot obtain their fundamental rights or will not play by the corrupt rules.”

Huffington Post

By David Coltart

5 October 2013

Zimbabwe is recognized as having one of the best education systems in Africa but when I took office as Minister of Education in February 2008 I found it in chaos. Nearly all schools were closed, 90000 teachers were on strike, public exams written the previous year hadn’t even been marked and there were hardly any textbooks in schools. Morale amongst teachers was low — 20,000 teachers left the service in 2007 and 2008 mainly because hyperinflation had rendered them destitute. Many had been beaten and intimidated by militia loyal to Robert Mugabe.

There was little I could offer to attract teachers back into service. After years of mismanagement of the economy by Mugabe’s government Treasury’s coffers were dry. We could only offer a monthly salary of US $100 to teachers. I engaged teacher trade unions and arranged for them to meet with the new Minister of Finance so that they could see for themselves the parlous state of the economy. I brought their leaders on to a new Education Advisory Board and implemented their suggestions. I offered immediate protection for teachers facing threats by moving those feeling insecure to safety. I declared an amnesty for those teachers who had fled.

Realizing that Government was not in a position to pay teachers a livable wage I turned to parents and allowed them to pay teachers incentives. They responded magnificently and in most schools increased teachers’ conditions dramatically. In Cabinet I argued for improved conditions for teachers.

At the end of my tenure as Minister in August the education sector has been stabilized. All schools are now open. Exams are written and marked on time. The textbook/pupil ratio is 1:1, the best in Africa. But key to stability is the fact that we now have 109,000 teachers in service and have not suffered any work disruptions in schools for 2 years. Entry level teachers are now paid US $400 per month and parents are still supplementing teacher salaries through incentives. This is still low but way above what they earned when I took over.

Having got teachers back into service I then focussed on the professional development of teachers. Agreement was recently reached with the Global Partnership for Education to commence a US $ 23,6 million teacher retraining exercise. Another programme assists teachers identify children who suffered during the chaos years pre 2009 so that deficiencies in literacy and numeracy rates can be addressed.

Despite the improvements of the last 4 years I remain concerned regarding the plight of Zimbabwe’s teachers and education sector. A committed and enthusiastic teacher body is the most important element in any education system. The leading education systems in the world in countries such as Singapore, South Korea and Finland are marked by the way they treat teachers. In those countries the teaching profession attracts the brightest students because the profession is well paid and respected. In Finland one cannot teach without a Masters degree.

If Zimbabwe is to build a world class education system future Governments need to recognize the need to invest heavily in the sector and particularly in teachers. Teachers need to be paid better, need better housing and living conditions, especially in remote rural schools and need to be respected. Teacher training colleges need to be improved and programs for professional development implemented.

A strong education system is the most important foundation for sustained economic growth and development in all countries. But key to that strength is how teachers are treated. Sadly many developing countries treat their soldiers better than teachers. The same countries often invest more in defence and in the retention of power than they do in education. That certainly applies to Zimbabwe. For as long as that continues the goal to transform Zimbabwe into an African economic powerhouse will remain illusory.

In honor of World Teacher Day, HuffPost Impact in partnership with The Varkey GEMS Foundation will devote one month to stories highlighting the need for global change — including staggering statistics, student anecdotes that put a face on these numbers, and teachers making a difference.