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Two steps forward, five steps backwards
Students Solidarity Trust
January 21, 2011

The beginning of the school term has become a nightmare for parents as unscrupulous retailers and school authorities hike fares for goods and services. Indeed, the immoral act of fleecing parents was the norm again this term as parents woke up to find that uniforms had inexplicably gone up and school fees had not stayed the same. After a festive season where even the transporters joined in the price-hike madness, parents whose budgets had already been shattered found no allies in retailers and school authorities who nudged up their goods and services. In a country that has adopted cash budgeting, parents are forced to scrounge around for resources to send their children to school despite the challenges. The little help they have received from the minister of finance has been trashed by some quarters as lacking wisdom. Inflation is said to have dropped but parents have not been treated fairly by those who are still stuck to the Zimbabwe dollar mentality where super profits were the order of the day due to hyper inflation. Nobody seems to have alerted them to the fact that the multi currencies now in use retain value and cannot therefore be treated with contempt and disdain as was the case with the now disused Zimbabwe dollar. The economic gains recorded seem not to have filtered through to parents as Zimbabwe's retailers continue to ride ruff shod over logic, reason and morality as they raise prices.

The civil service was also plunged into turmoil as it emerged that the anticipated pay rise was not going to come. Much to their chagrin, civil servants had received a measly 6 to 11 dollars increase as opposed to the 100% they had anticipated. This meant a showdown between teachers and their employer, the government. A work stoppage is now on the cards and this is very likely to disrupt the students' learning paterns this term. The moderate recovery of the education sector is under threat from bureaucrats bungling and government's reluctance to put the issue of teachers' remuneration to bed once and for all. Acknowledging that the fiscus is still very strained, an extra effort should be made to resolving the issue of teacher remuneration. Senator Coltart has come up with the multi-donor trust fund and the SST believes that the model should also be applicable to higher education. However, the ministry's response has been to ignore calls for progressive dialogue preferring instead to grandstand and clamour for more resources through the minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Dr Mudenge, and Dr Mbizvo who is the permanent secretary.

Recently, the Minister of Finance, Honourable Tendai Biti has been under attack from those who managed to benefit from Zimbabwe's benevolent education system who now feel that education is no longer a priority. Several have sulked to the media making a case for agriculture and lampooning the minister of finance for his commendable courage to take money away from possible plunder in sectors where accountability seems like a totem. For any nation to prosper, the SST strongly believes that the foundation should be in education. All other sectors can only benefit from an educated population and this will surely boost production across the board.

As students start a new school year, the question remains, is the country moving two steps forward and five steps backwards? The repair job for the education sector is ongoing, there is a possibility that there may be a recession if focus is diverted right now. The sector is still fragile and delicate, all stakeholders should therefore try to ensure that the work that Senator Coltart, Minister Biti and others have put in is not eroded by those unhappy with such development. Government should be reminded that they have an obligation to ensure that education continues to be high up on their priority list despite the discord coming from other sectors.

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