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The Right to Education
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Extracted from Human Rights Bulletin, No. 40 - July 2006
August 25, 2006

Education is a basic human right. Education is important in the socio-economic development of not only citizens of a nation, but for the development of nations as well. The education sector in Zimbabwe has gone through some changes since the attainment of Independence in 1980. Currently, the sector is faced with numerous challenges such as high costs of tuition fees, shortages of teaching materials such as books as well as a general decline in the standards of education. It is against this background that this Human Rights Bulletin focuses on the right to education with a view to highlighting the government’s obligation in the realization of this right and exploring how this right is under threat in Zimbabwe. Also included in the discussion are the current problems affecting tertiary education in the country.

Background to the right to education
The right to education is explicitly set out in a number of international human rights instruments. The right to education falls under the economic, social and cultural rights category. This category is made up of rights that the state has to fulfill, and which can be realized over a period of time by the state, depending on the available resources.

Here we will briefly highlight some of the instruments that relate to the right to education.

According to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit…"

In addition, Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that

" The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms… Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all. Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education."

Furthermore, Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that "State Parties recognize the right of the child to education… and … shall… make primary education compulsory and available free to all…make secondary education available and accessible to every child … make higher education accessible to all children."

Article 17 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights states "that every individual shall have the right to education."

Education in Zimbabwe
The right to education is explained in two ways. Firstly, it relates to free and compulsory primary level education. Secondly, education should be accessible. Between 1980 and 1990, the government introduced and implemented free primary education as a fundamental human right. Education for all was a policy the government of Zimbabwe pursued diligently for much of the first decade after the attainment of Independence. As a result of the free education system, there was a marked increase in school enrolment at both primary and secondary levels. Enrolment increased by about 72% for both sexes in 1990 as compared to 1980. Since 1990, the education system introduced cost recovery measures whereby parents were expected to pay for the fees of their children in both urban and rural areas. These cost recovery systems, implemented as part of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP), resulted in the displacement of the free education policy. This had a negative impact particularly on school enrolment.

The right to education under threat
In spite of the general improvements in the education delivery system since the attainment of Independence in 1980, the quality of education has of late been deteriorating because of a number of challenges that both the education system and the country at large are facing.

Challenges

General economic hardship
The country is currently experiencing economic hardship, which has seen inflation rates skyrocketing. This has resulted in many parents failing to pay the tuition fees that are constantly being increased by schools. The price of uniforms and books has risen to proportions beyond the reach of many parents.

Inadequate financing of education
The Ministries of Education, Sports and Culture and that of Higher and Tertiary Education, are among the ministries that receive the highest share of resources within the national budget. It should be noted however, that these resources remain inadequate in real terms to maintain the desired high quality of education. This has resulted in the following:

• Inadequate basic teaching materials;
• high pupil to book ration of 8 to 1 in 1997;
• high teacher to pupil ratio averaging 1:37, but as high as 1:50 in some cases in 2000, compared with a recommended ratio of 1:28;
• poor environment for learning; and
• inadequate infrastructure, (classrooms space, teacher accommodation and libraries, and ablution facilities).

Low Teacher Morale and Brain Drain

Morale among teachers is generally very low due to a number of reasons such as:

• Low salaries (which have been acutely eroded by the high inflationary environment and poor staff accommodation, especially in rural areas).
• An increase in the work loads which have worsened the working conditions.

These factors have partly contributed to the massive brain drain of qualified teachers.

HIV and AIDS
The HIV and AIDS pandemic is seriously undermining the education system, indiscriminately affecting pupils, their parents and teachers.

Population movements under Land Reform
Population movements under the land reform have presented some challenges to the provision of primary education for all children. There is no adequate primary school infrastructure in the newly resettled areas.

Operation Murambatsvina
In 2005 the education sector was negatively affected by the disastrous results of a clean-up exercise code - named Operation Murambatsvina. The campaign, which was launched by the government to destroy supposedly illegal structures in urban areas, made hundreds of thousands of people homeless. According to a United Nations Report (July 2005), over 200 000 school-age children were directly affected by it, as the operation took place in the middle of the school term. The children’s parents, who had lost their livelihoods due to the operation, were no longer able to meet the costs of their children’s education. They could no longer afford to pay school fees or the cost of transport to school. Many school - aged children were displaced from the catchment areas of their schools therefore being forced out of school.

Higher and Tertiary Education
Although the right to free and compulsory education does not extend to tertiary education, it is important to briefly examine the current situation at tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe. This is because tertiary education is a continuation of primary and secondary education. In tertiary institutions, privatization of catering and accommodation was introduced. This took place during the time when ESAP was introduced in 1990. This resulted in students facing difficulties in so far as food and accommodation is concerned. The new fees for state universities have been hiked beyond the reach of most students. Children of rural villagers, who are mostly dependent on peasant farming, cannot afford these escalating fees and are forced to drop out. Life in general has been difficult for students in higher institutions of learning. Because of the general economic meltdown in the country and the hyper-inflationary environment, students’ grants have been eroded. Some students have been reduced to near-destitution because of the prevailing economic situation. Students who dare to protest against the unfair fee hikes and a review of their grants, are frequently arrested and sometimes assaulted severely by the police and consequently charged under Zimbabwe’s tough security laws such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). This is a common practice even with peaceful demonstrations. Some students have been expelled for life from the university. According to the Students Solidarity Trust (SST), about 72 students have been barred from institutions of tertiary education. The punishments range from suspension for two years, first imposed in 2001, to outright expulsion from the institution.

Conclusion
With the current dire situation affecting the education sector in Zimbabwe, what remains is that innumerable children and adolescents are being deprived of the right to education as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other International Covenants, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory.

It has been noted that unlike the protection of civil and political rights, which require few economic resources, the realization of economic, social and cultural rights entails substantial economic resources as well as technical resources. International co-operation and assistance is required for the realization of these rights. Where the government is unable to provide such resources, it has an obligation to approach the international community for assistance. Thus, Zimbabwe has to become economically stable as well as to reestablish its diplomatic ties with donor states for it to realise this right to education.

The government, as the custodian of people’s rights, has an obligation to ensure that human rights are realized and respected including the right to education. This entails, on the part of the government, political will and commitment for the rights to be realized. It is in this vein that the Forum urges the government to seriously examine the education sector and improve on the current undesirable situation for the citizens of this country to enjoy their right to education.

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