Save the Children-United Kingdom is looking for US$920 000 from donors willing to finance the project which seeks to enhance the quality of education in Bulawayo through the provision of resources for schools and teachers in 2009.
The project would see the charity offering teacher incentives such as food packs, health care assistance and transport allowances, according to the project outline seen by The Zimbabwean On Sunday.
Bulawayo has been hardest hit by an ongoing teacher strike, with Save the Children estimating that more than 30 percent of teachers had left the profession by October 2008 and that a significant proportion of positions are currently filled by temporary teachers with minimal qualifications.
The proximity of the city to South Africa and Botswana has worsened the flight of teachers to neighbouring countries.
Most Zimbabwean public schools failed to open for the academic year last Tuesday as teachers continued with a strike that started in March 2008.
They are demanding to be paid in foreign currency to cushion them from the rapid dollarisation of the troubled southern African economy.
Save the Children said it hoped to drastically increase teacher attendance and retention while strengthening school management by school development committees. ends.
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