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With no teachers schools fail to open for second term
Kholwani Nyathi, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
May 27, 2007

BULAWAYO - Three schools in Mangwe and Bulilima districts of Matabeleland South are yet to open for the second term as most of their teachers have skipped the border into South Africa.

Others are said to have failed to turn up on opening day, claiming they had no money to travel to the remote districts where their schools are located.

A number of schools in Bulawayo and the two Matabeleland provinces have been crippled by a massive teacher exodus amid revelations that most of them now concentrate on providing tuition to examination classes to mitigate their financial crisis.But reports that Butshe secondary school and Tsukulu and Mambale primary schools in Bulilima and Mangwe respectiverly have remained closed because of a teacher shortage indicate the situation has reached crisis levels.

Civil servants, including teachers have reportedly rejected a 200% pay increase offered by the government, citing galloping inflation which breached world record levels a long time ago.

This comes a few weeks after the government was forced to review upwards allowances for nurses following complaints by the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, David Parirenyatwa that the health workers were no longer reporting for duty because they could not afford bus fare.

On 18 May education officers visiting Mambale primary school to assess the situation were reportedly chased away by angry parents.

"The headmaster invited the education officers from Plumtree to come and assess the situation for themselves, but after they suggested they would look into the matter, the angry parents chased them away," said one parent.

Matabeleland South provincial education director, Sipho Khumalo was not immediately available for comment and the Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, Aeneas Chigwedere said he had not received any report about the schools.

But he acknowledged that teachers were running away from remote schools "because of poor living conditions, lack of safe drinking water sources and transport."

"We have no shortage of teachers as a country but we have problems with teachers who are running away from remote areas," said Chigwedere.

According to a recent survey by the Progressive Teachers' Union (PTUZ), 4 500 teachers had left the country between January and April, fleeing from low salaries and poor working conditions.

Most of them crossed the border into South Africa and Botswana,where they are even prepared to do menial jobs. Contrary to Chigwedere's assertion, even schools in urban areas have been affected by the staff exodus.

Teachers earn $500 000 a month but the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe estimates that a family of five now needs $1.7 million a month to survive.

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