Zimbabwe education system in doldrums

While Zimbabwe had made tremendous progress in education since 1980, achieving the highest literacy rate in Africa, the standards of education are continuously collapsing and institutions are now producing generations of mediocrity.

According to a report by The Commonwealth and the State of Education in Zimbabwe , written by ex-education minister David Coltart, since 2000 the political crisis and precipitous economic decline induced shocks and pressures that left many sectors, including education, on the verge of collapse.

Evidence on the ground suggests that the country’s education system is now also facing a crisis -one of the most serious in its history. Government, with support from development partners and other key stakeholders, invested heavily in the sector over the two-and-a-half decades following independence in 1980. Coltart wrote in a report which still largely reflects the current situation that primary schools and their pupil numbers increased from 2 410 and 820 266 in 1979 to 5 560 and 2 445 516 in 2006 respectively.

 Decreasing government expenditure on education has forced schools to increasingly rely on tuition fees and levies. The consequent rise in fees and levies has been a serious obstacle to educational access and completion for many school children. Lack of resources disproportionately affects the marginalised, especially girls. The use of student levies and fees to supplement salaries and retain teachers has exacerbated inequalities between students who can afford higher supplements and those from poor socioeconomic backgrounds.

The commission was appointed by President Robert Mugabe in 1998 to look into the problems in education. The commission took a swipe at poor administration and irrelevant curricula, recommending vocational education. It also recommended that the teaching methods should be changed to focus on skills, while reducing the focus on examinations.

However, none of these recommendations were took seriously by the government, leading to the tremendous collapse in the education sector.

children at school
 

Issues and challenges faced in the provision of education in Zimbabwe

Access to education is still restricted amongst children from low socio-economic backgrounds, farming areas and other remote parts of the country. Despite the massive expansion of the education sector since independence, access, equity and quality of educational provision continue to persist, and rural district council day schools tend to be poor, whilst high-fee-paying private schools have superior facilities and staff.
To illustrate the issues of equity, access and quality of educational provision in Zimbabwe, Dr. Nherera made a specific reference to the Early Child Education and Care (ECEC). The presenter pointed out that ECEC was not included in the massive expansion of educational facilities that took place soon after independence. However, notable progress has been made particularly in rural and communal areas. The provision of ECEC, however, remains voluntary and it is not a prerequisite for pupils starting formal primary school. Most of the ECEC centers operating in Zimbabwe are not registered with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture and statistics regarding the number of centers, enrolments, staffing and funding tend to be unreliable.

Dr. Nherera argued that in spite of notable progress in access to ECEC, statistics show that access remains extremely limited. It continues to be the most neglected sector in educational provision and it is children from a low socio-economic background who are most deprived of the early intellectual stimulation due to lack of access to ECEC centers. In addition, rural ECEC centers are generally poorly equipped, have inadequate buildings facilities, lack suitable playground equipment and are serviced by untrained or under-trained teachers.

The prevalence of high fee private schools for the elite has meant that while pupils in all schools might be following the same curriculum, children from affluent families who attend these resource-rich schools stand a better chance of passing their examinations than those from poor families and attending poorly resourced schools. Therefore, children from poor backgrounds are hardly able to break out of the poverty trap.
children in "class"

"The awarding of the PHD to the president's wife is an insult"-: Zinasu's president, Gilbert Mutubuki.(2014)

Zimbabwe's poor education system might be the reason why students called for Grace Mugabe’s doctorate to be withdrawn in 2014.
Zimbabwe's main student body accused president Robert Mugabe of awarding a controversial doctorate of philosophy degree (PHD) to his wife Grace by the country's top university (University of Zimbabwe)

The news about the graduation of Grace Mugabe was not received in a good manner, with critics arguing that the First Lady had no capacity to attain such lofty qualification especially after her poor academic record with a British university was publicised a few years ago.

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) said that, since Mugabe is the chancellor of all Zimbabwe government run universities including the UZ , he capped his wife in August but the awarding of the degree was seen as a corrupt means of buttressing his wife's credentials as she seeks political office - and possibly the presidency when her husband dies.

ZINASU said it was not fighting the person of the First Lady but protecting the credibility of the country's education system.

"We have nothing against the First Lady but what we want is to protect the reputation of our education system so that we will not be underrated by the world in terms of our education," said Mutubuki.

the first lady, Grace Mugabe

 

Students called for Grace's doctorate to be withdrawn if it is established that procedure was not followed or there was manipulation of the process.

"The education crisis in Zimbabwe has turned the nation ito a horrible graveyard of burried hopes for youths"

Despite all its problems, Zimbabwe has always boasted it has the highest literacy rates in Africa, but latest education statistics may leave long-time leader, President Robert Mugabe with a little egg on his face.
Results from a 2012 census indicate that one in two adults have never been to school, but unlike in most parts of the continent, more females than males received formal education.
The statistics, by the Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (Zimstat) revealed that 51% of men had not been to school, while 49% of females had missed out on formal education. This fact poses a threat to the poor youths of Zimbabwe who are keen to get education to its highest levels. They are left with no hope because the poor education levels are being fueled by the crippled economy of the nation which has proven to be failing to improve but rather its getting worse on a daily basis.

Literacy levels in Zimbabwe are believed to be at 90%, the highest in Africa, although Zimstat says 97% of the country's 13 million people are literate.According to the report, in the capital, Harare there were slightly more males than females, who had never been to school and there were slightly more females than males at school. In a situation like this it is the youths who suffer the most because they make up most of the national population so it is the youth who comprise of the remaining illiterate population, thus threatening their aspirations in life.                                                           






The results that Zimstat do not only embarrass and tarnish the image of the president but they also pose a serious threat to the youths who are left hopeless. The question at hand now is: what are our dear political leaders doing when Zimbabwe's future leaders are so hopeless?

Zim Universities Incompetent: Zimbabwe Education Minister says

THE MINISTER IS CLEARLY DISTURBED BY THE CURRENT EDUCATION SYSTEM OF ZIM...BUT DOES THIS GIVE US HOPE?

The Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Cde Godfrey Gandawa has expressed dissatisfaction and disbelief at the level of incompetence and sub-standard nature of Tertiary institutions in the country, this publication has learnt.


In an interview with New Zimbabwe.Com, Gandawa said universities have in the past proven to be inadequate in helping the nation build and develop its economic state. "The problem with Zimbabweans is that we boast of having high intellectual capacity but our economy is going down. Universities must be used as think tanks and at the moment they are a disservice. We need independent researchers who can help the country out of the economic problems," said Godfrey Gandawa, during the tour of Zimbabwe Open University recently.
 

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Gandawa gave reference to European countries and the United States of America where universities are used as think tanks to help government with research policies, which is why they have stable economies. He said the country was in need of straight forward researchers who are not afraid to tell the truth.

"We don't want researchers who want to please certain individuals," said Gandawa.

He went on to say that local universities were producing half-baked graduates who are failing to make inroads into the new world of technology. Gandawa also raised concerns about the fact that university students are failing to make it today because they are mainly being taught theory rather than practical, hence Zim Universities are incompetent indeed.

deputy minister hon Godfrey Gandawa

Zimbabwe continues to be a hopeless case in terms of faccilitating education...question is where are our leaders in times like these?

UNPAID UNIVERSITY LECTURERS DOWN TOOLS AT UNIVERSITIES IN ZIMBABWE


MSU and  NUST lecturers have gone on strike over unpaid February salaries. LECTURERS and non-academic staff at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) reportedly went on strike on Tuesday, demanding that government pays them outstanding February salaries.This decision was announced at a meeting addressed by the Nust Educators Association (Nusteda) at the university's campus.
At the meeting, the Nusteda members unanimously agreed to down tools until they are paid their dues.
Lectures  vowed not to return to work until the government honors its obligation.

 On the other hand, Midlands State University (MSU) lecturers have embarked on an industrial action, protesting the late payment of February salaries. The lecturers downed tools on Monday following a meeting held at the university’s main campus last Friday came up with a resolution that they (lectures) should not report for duty until they are paid.

Last week Great Zimbabwe University lecturers and non-teaching staff went on strike, protesting non-payment of their salaries since January and their outstanding December bonuses.
The government did not take immediate action, so the situation has spread to other state universities as the state battles to keep the economy afloat.






The lecturers accused government of violating the Labour Act that salaries should be paid on or before the last day of the respective working month but the university has been struggling to pay lecturers’ salaries on time since last year and has been shifting pay dates without notice.

lecturers on strike...

Universal Primary Education(MDG NUMBER 2): Is the Zim government doing anything with regards to achieving this gaol

Our ministry of education, sports and Culture has really shown its genuine interest in achieving MDG number 2. The Ministry of Education, Sports, Art and Culture with support from the United Nations launched the Accelerated Action Plan (AAP) for MDG2 for Zimbabwe that aims at ensuring that by 2015, all Zimbabwean children—boys and girls alike—will be able to complete primary education. 

The plan, which was developed using the MDG Accelerated Framework (MAF) methodology, identified Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), School Feeding Programme, Second Chance Education and School Improvement Grants as selected focus areas of intervention. , School Feeding Programme, Second Chance Education and School Improvement Grants as selected focus areas of intervention. The methodology defined opportunities for scaling up the effectiveness of these interventions to meet the MDG targets by 2015.

During the launch of the Accelerated Action Plan for MDG2 report for Zimbabwe that was held on 29 May 2013, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sports, Art and Culture, Ms. Constance Chigwamba expressed the government’s full commitment to the plan.

Against the background of constrained resources, UNESCO suggested that government and education partners intensify their efforts to increase resources for programmes such as BEAM and ensure that teachers can be retained by improving their conditions of service and opportunities for professional development. Providing the same conditions for early childhood development programme as for primary schools is necessary. In addition, UNESCO urges building capacity of the planning department of the MESAC in respect of data processing and analysis.
Through these measures, Zimbabwe hopes to retain its pole position in sub-Saharan Africa in the area of universal primary education.

However, the government's failure to solve economic challenges facing the country, so the economic situation for the average Zimbabwean family has worsened during the past decade. This has had a direct nega­tive impact on their ability to send their children to school and pay for school fees and uniforms. Fewer children in rural areas attend school than do children in urban areas. The primary school dropout rate is also much higher in rural areas, which account for 78.9% of the total number of dropouts.

Primary children at school