The militant PTUZ on Monday held closed door deliberations with the permanent secretary for Education, Sports and Culture, Stephen Mahere, to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe’s education sector amid revelations that entry examination statements for national examinations, which officially start next week, have not been distributed to schools and students.
Raymond Majongwe, PTUZ’s secretary general confirmed meeting with Mahere and his team of directors at the ministry’s head office.
The union officials and the ministry of education officials deliberated on salary and working conditions of teachers, the 2008 public examinations, alleged unfair labour practices in the teaching profession and the situation of teachers who were allegedly victims of political violence in the March and June presidential elections.
PTUZ wants the government to peg teachers salaries in US$ and are demanding take-home salaries of US$1200.
Citing numerous industrial strikes by teachers and violence against teachers during the presidential elections, the union told Mahere and his officials that very little education took place during the academic year hence the push to have this year’s public examinations deferred or cancelled.
“We have recommended the setting up of a committee to assess the state of the student’s preparedness for 2008 public examinations comprising stakeholders from government, labour and employers with a view to either defer the examinations to an appropriate date as determined by the outcome of the survey or set aside the 2008 academic year and allow students to repeat their current grades in 2009 and freeze all intakes for a new cohort of Grade 1, Form 1 and Form 5,” reads part of a PTUZ document handed to government on Monday.
Mahere told RadioVOP that his ministry was still studying the union’s input.
“We had a fruitful meeting but we are still studying their points of view,” he said.
Radio VOP