Education system collapses

By Vusumuzi Sifile and Bertha Shoko

PROCEEDING with public examinations for primary and secondary schools tomorrow could have disastrous consequences for the future of students because the education system is in disarray, The Standard has learnt.

Last week, acting Minister of Education Flora Bhuka announced that all examinations would go ahead although there was a shift from the traditional dates for certain subjects.

But educationists and civil society have warned the move could backfire because pupils, teachers and the examining authority, the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) indicate serious lack of preparedness.

There was no learning worth examining this year, they said.

Students have not received statements of entry to confirm they had been correctly registered for the examinations.

The statement of entry guides the students on the subject, date and time they will write their examinations. By Friday close of business, examination papers had not been delivered to most schools with reports that Zimsec employees were on a go-slow.

Takavafira Zhou, President of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), said the decision by government to go ahead with examinations was most unfortunate.
He said there was no meaningful learning and teaching in 2008 and that examination classes were not prepared.

“As a union we are worried that Zimsec and Ministry of Education officials want to give the false impression that everything is on course,” Zhou said. “As PTUZ we note that examinations are not an event but a process. Given realities on the ground it is logical to cancel 2008 examinations.”

According to PTUZ, between January and March there was industrial action by teachers. Then schools closed a week earlier for the March elections.

During the elections teachers acted as polling officers, prejudicing students as a result. Nothing was done to compensate for the lost time.

After the March 29 elections, said PTUZ, classes were also disrupted during April, May, June and July in the retribution campaign by Zanu PF that left at least 130 MDC supporters dead.
Teachers were also targeted and displaced during the violence while some schools were invaded and used as torture bases by self-styled war veterans and Zanu PF militia, disrupting classes.

There are also fears that there would be no invigilators at most examination centres, as teachers have been on strike since the beginning of the school term in protest at low pay. Last week, teachers received a “top up” of $90 000 to their salaries. The top up is many times more than the average salary teachers received last month.

The PTUZ is demanding at least US$1 200 a month as basic salary in line with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s “dollarisation” of the economy.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) last week weighed in with concerns that it was not wise for the examinations to go ahead. Among other concerns, Unicef said teachers and District Education Officers were “ill- equipped” to run national examinations.

A survey conducted by Unicef showed that an estimated 40% of the country’s teachers were reporting for duty, while a third of the pupils were attending classes.

Unicef supports orphans and vulnerable children in meeting their schooling needs. It said the 2008 academic year was seriously disrupted because of the continuous teachers’ strikes, elections and accompanying political violence.

Unicef said following “disturbing results” from routine monitoring visits on the situation in Zimbabwe it was seriously concerned about the prevailing crisis.

“Between a two-month teachers’ strike, limited learning materials, political violence and displacements, Zimbabwe’s children have lost a whole year of schooling,” said Unicef Country Representative, Roeland Monasch.

“The depletion of teachers in schools, transport and food problems faced by the remaining teachers and lack of resources have left the sector tottering on the brink of collapse.”
PTUZ also recently carried out a survey on the “preparedness for examinations”.

“That survey,” said PTUZ Secretary-General Raymond Majongwe, “proved that teachers and students are not prepared for examinations.”

The survey was prompted by a dismal performance during the mid-year examinations. At least 30 schools were targeted in the survey.

With these worrying trends, Unicef believes the education sector is too critical a sector to be left to die.

“Education remains the engine to drive Zimbabwe’s long-term prospects,” Monasch said. “It is critical that the sector is not left to collapse. Enduring solutions on salaries, food and working conditions should be reached soon, the monitoring visits should be beefed up, and the situation in schools requires urgent action.

“Zimbabwe’s children are already suffering on multiple fronts; denying them an education to better their prospects is unacceptable.”

The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association has criticised the government for undermining the

Published in The Standard 12 Oct. 2008