HARARE - About 8 000 teachers who fled election violence last year and only returned to their posts in 2009 have gone for months without pay as retribution for their perceived support of the MDC, a union official has charged.Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary general Raymond Majongwe told The Zimbabwean in an interview last week that some Zanu (PF) die-hards in education offices at district and provincial level were out to frustrate the teachers and present the MDC minister of education, sport and culture David Coltart as weak.
“It’s political. There are people in the education system who feel they’ve power to frustrate teachers because of their political affiliation and their links to the MDC,” said Majongwe.
“We are aggrieved because 5 000 of the 8 000 teachers who have not been paid are our members. This is why they are being victimized.”
Education minister David Coltart confirmed in an email to this newspaper that a number of teachers had gone without pay.
“I am aware of the fact that some teachers have not been paid and I have asked the Permanent Secretary to urgently address this. It is also the subject of extensive correspondence with the Salary Service Bureau and the PSC,” Coltart said.
Majongwe said Zanu (PF) supporters in the education system were taking advantage of the lengthy bureaucratic procedures which require appointment papers to go through district and then provincial offices before they are finally forwarded to the permanent secretary and the government’s Salary Services Bureau for processing. The Ministry of Public Service also has to approve the appointments through the Public Service Commission.
Coltart said he had heard the reports of political victimization but needed evidence to act on them.
“I have heard these allegations but they have not been substantiated – if
you have any hard evidence I would be grateful to receive the reports – I
will then investigate,” he said.
Majongwe revealed that some education officials had been arrested after they demanded bribes from the returning teachers before re-admitting them.
“There are people who’ve gotten used to a system that doesnt work. There are others who want to make Coltart a failure and then there are others who just want things to remain as they are,” said Majongwe.
He said one teacher from Chivu, a Masona who was a known MDC supporter, had gone for 15 months without pay as punishment for his political beliefs. Other teachers were subjected to various forms of humiliation, including having to re-apply and present their educational papers afresh, besides having to go through the costly process of seeking police clearance.
“There was an agreement that each teacher coming back should go back to their original schools if there are vacancies. However, many teachers are being victimized. They are being deployed to rural areas as punishment. This victimization must stop,” Majongwe said.
However, the union boss said the issue was likely to be resolved soon.
“I want to assure teachers that we’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ve got assurances from the minister (Coltart) that all teachers will get paid,” he said.
About 15 000 teachers who had fled their schools at the height of political violence that escalated towards the end of 2007 have now been re-admitted into the system.
A teacher from St Mathews Ruswa secondary school in Wedza said she had not been paid since she signed assumption of duty forms in March this year. The University of Zimbabwe graduate said she was considering leaving the profession completely as she could no longer cope with the economic situation. Her husband was unemployed and she had two young children to take care of, besides her elderly mother who also looked up to her for support.
The teacher said she had fled her school in 2007 due to persecution and threats of violence.
“Armed soldiers used to come and force teachers to attend all-night meetings. All teachers were forced to attend the gatherings in the bush. There were beatings and some women were raped. That is why I left,” she said.
Another unpaid teacher, from Zinatsa secondary school in Chivu, also a UZ graduate, blamed himself for having left his job as a waiter in South Africa to return to Zimbabwe. The teacher said officials at the ministry of education head office in Harare had told him that his papers had not yet arrived from the provincial office since he signed them, also in March. The teacher, a married father of one who said he earned R2 600 as a waiter in SA said he was contemplating abandoning his A’Level students to return to SA.
Many other teachers said they would leave if the situation did not improve.
Post published in: Politics