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Looking back to look forward - education in Zimbabwe
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
January 04, 2010

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Preamble

The education of their children has been a major driving force for Zimbabweans and WOZA members in particular, and the motivation behind much activism. In the first decade after Independence, the education system in Zimbabwe reached its peak and was heralded as the best in Africa. In the last decade however, it has been pushed to its decline by power and politics - our children's future sacrificed. This paper will reflect on how this decay took place in order to expose this injustice and to demand its immediate remedy. Our children deserve excellence. They deserve teachers trained to deliver it and we will not rest until we get it.

Introduction

In 2009 education is in a crisis situation with neither the state nor parents able to afford to pay the costs of quality schooling. Ten years ago the President asked for a report to be prepared on the education system. The report showed a severe decline in standards, an ineffective curriculum, the poor attitude of both teachers and pupils and the corruption and ineptitude of the people running the education system. That report recommended major changes in all aspects of education. It was never released and was hidden away by the Minister. Since that time the economy was destroyed by misgovernance. Bad policies did further damage to schools and the lives of children became affected, making them the ones to suffer the consequences, their education sacrificed for political power.

The deterioration has seen buildings falling into disrepair and teaching materials disappearing. Huge numbers of teachers left the service and the country due to a meaningless salary. By 2008 those remaining spent more time on strike than actually teaching. Government could not make enough budget allocations for schools and the examination system was expected to run on its own without the ability to charge costcovering fees. Specialised departments such as the Curriculum Development Unit lost most of their staff, and staff that remain at national, provincial and district headquarters have no vehicles or other equipment with which to carry out their duties. Tens of thousand of children dropped out of school because it was not worth the effort of staying to learn very little and then to fail exams after paying high fees. Even those who could perhaps have passed could find no employment, so it was more worthwhile to drop out and spend time earning an income in black market dealing, gold panning or cross-border trading. Most schools no longer had the capacity to provide a meaningful education or prepare children for a decent life.

In February 2009 a respected member of the Movement for Democratic Change was appointed Minister of Education. He inherited a complete disaster. And he had to face a nation of parents who still wanted their children to be educated and expected him to perform the miracle of providing a meaningful and affordable education. Although he managed to reopen the schools and keep them open, thousands of children have dropped out because they cannot afford the fees, high levies and top-ups teachers continue to demand. Despite good intentions, he was unable to provide the quality of education they wanted, with few textbooks, demotivated teachers and inadequate supervision by ministry officials. The low standards criticised in the commissioned report and recommended changes were forgotten as standards dropped even further. Now the education system not only needs massive amounts of investment, it also needs a complete rethink of many aspects, especially the curriculum, if it is to give children of Zimbabwe hope for a better future.

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