e now being told by headmasters that “the teachers can’t be found, and that is that”. The good news is that rogue Zanu (PF) militia, who used to move around schools terrorising teachers, have now stopped.
Meanwhile the few teachers still reporting for duty have been on a go-slow since schools opened for the second term last month.
“The situation is terrible. Since term began we have had no teachers for maths, english, science and chemistry,” a student at a school in Harare’s high density suburb of Highfield said. “We have just been told teachers can’t be found and we just sit idle during the periods for those subjects.”
Education, sports and culture minister, Aenias Chigwedere, admitted that “we have lost many of our teachers and it is a bad situation”.
Teachers have been locked in a battle for better salaries for a long time and the past couple of years have been characterized by a massive decline in the standards of education, previously one of the success stories by the Mugabe regime.
Meanwhile, the economic decline is further piling pressure on parents as schools continue to increase school fees. Most boarding schools are currently calling for emergency meetings with parents to discuss fees top-ups despite them having increased at the beginning of the term four weeks ago. Boarding schools offering better standards are now charging between Z$5 and $10 million per term, which only the elite can afford.
Post published in: News