HARARE - Higher Education and Tertiary Education Minister Dr Stan Mudenge Mudenge said the situation at colleges was improving with many lecturers regaining confidence in the system. “The situation has improved compared to the last time we met with the parliamentarian portfolio committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology. I can confirm that at the University of Zimbabwe there has been a 70 per cent increment in staff recruitment and this on its own is a significant improvement,” said Dr Mudenge.
The Minister said they expected the situation to further improve in the coming couple of months as more individuals showed interest in the profession. Over the years, lecturers left the country in droves to take up teaching positions elsewhere. Early this year it was reported that the University of Zimbabwe had less than 500 of the required 1 200 lecturers, forcing the institution to halt enrolment for some programmes, particularly sciences.
Reporting to the Parliament, the Portfolio Committee noted that science-related faculties were the most affected. “At one point we were relying on teaching assistants to support the few
lecturers who had remained in the profession, which most people said was a threat to the education system,” said the Minister.
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