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Private school authorities threatened with arrest if schools opened
Alex Bell, SW Radio Africa
January 12, 2009

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news120109/privateschools120109.htm

Private school authorities have been threatened with arrest if they open their school's doors as scheduled on Tuesday, as the future of the 2009 academic year remains uncertain.

The government has already postponed the opening of public schools until the end of the month, after Education minister Stephen Mahere last week said more time was needed for teachers to finish marking the end of year public exams. Teachers meanwhile have pledged not to return to work until a guarantee is made by the government that they will be paid in foreign currency, as the local currency has become completely worthless.

Private schools however were set to reopen on Tuesday as expected, after their exam results were released earlier this month. But it has emerged that the school doors will also remain firmly shut this week under government orders and the threat of arrest.

Meanwhile, the government has struck yet another nail into the coffin that was once a highly respected education system, by turning down a 'teacher retention scheme'. The rescue package that was proposed by a coalition of NGOs and teachers' unions would have stopped the exodus of teachers leaving the country and might have lured back some of the thousands who have already left.

The Education Working Group (EWG), which comprises the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), and international humanitarian agencies, had pledged to raise funds for the scheme that would have seen the estimated 100 000 teachers currently threatening to leave the country, being paid in foreign currency. Teachers would also have received food aid packages under the scheme that the EWG says would have acted as motivation for teachers return when the new term starts on January 27th.

But it's understood the Ministry of Education turned down the offer, saying teachers were civil servants whose salaries was the 'prerogative of the government'. PTUZ National Coordinator Oswald Madziwa explained on Monday that it was unfortunate, but not surprising, that the government was unwilling to relinquish payment of teachers to the donor community. He said the scheme "would make the government a non-entity" and also cause other public services to switch their loyalties.

"The army and the police would become more loyal to the donor community and in this regard the international community, if they were able to pay better salaries than the government," Madziwa explained.

Madziwa said that the 2009 academic year was likely already a write off, as many teachers have reportedly already left the country. He said teachers would not be able to afford to come to school and warned that the union "doesn't see any child receiving any learning this year."

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