ZIMSEC strike exposes education shambles

By Vusumuzi Sifile

THE government’s decision to go ahead with public examinations for Grade VlI, Ordinary and Advanced Levels despite problems facing the education sector could backfire as the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council only has "skeletal staff" to compile answer sheets from examination centres.

It has also emerged that workers who are supposed to compile a database for the examinations have been on strike for months, protesting against poor salaries. As a result, the database, which is usually compiled months before the examinations, has not been completed.

The database is used to allocate candidate numbers to students from various centres, and to develop statements of entry for all students. It is not clear how students managed to write the examinations without going through the vital process and educators warned that there could be a massive mix-up of examination results.

Zimsec employees now report for duty once or twice a week. This has thrown into disarray the compilation of the examination database, a key part of the examination process.
The development could compound the confusion in the administration of the examinations, which have already seen some papers being invigilated reportedly by headmen, youth militia and police officers.

Two weeks before the government defied calls by teachers’ unions not to hold examinations, Zimsec employees petitioned the acting Minister of Education, Flora Bhuka to urgently address the "unsustainable remuneration at Zimsec".

"For a long time, Zimsec staff have been subjected to deplorable conditions of service. The salaries given to Zimsec workers are so extremely low that it is a wonder that we have managed to report for duty," reads the letter, dated October 13.

Bhuka was not available for comment. But workers’ representatives said she had promised to "look into the issue".

The letter indicates that the salaries workers received for October were not enough for one trip to work on public transport. The workers accused their superiors of "general insensitivity", which they said "makes it impossible" for them to continue performing their normal duties.
On Friday, Zimsec spokesperson Ezekiel Pasipamire was said to be out of office. It could not be immediately established whether his absence was part of the protest. An official who answered the phone said he "just didn’t come to work".

Dr Stephen Mahere, the Secretary for Education, said: "We cannot be talking of a database when examinations have already been written", and then requested to have questions faxed to him. However, Mahere had not responded by Friday close of business.

Mathias Guchutu, the spokesperson for the National Education Union of Zimbabwe, which covers Zimsec workers, said they were not happy that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s decided to award cash benefits to invigilators only.

"The union is happy that the RBZ intervened in the education sector by providing money for the invigilators, but why not extend that to the Zimsec employees who are on a minimum of $7 000 (revalued) a month," he said. "The Zimsec employee is critical to the quality and professional administration of examinations."

Guchutu said the current examination process would not "produce any quality thing".
"The employees can hardly afford to go to work. There is currently skeleton staff, and the administration of the examinations from what we have seen so far has also been skeletal.
"If the government is serious about the examinations, something must be done quickly."

Talks in jeopardy

By Vusumuzi Sifile and Kholwani Nyathi

ACCUSATIONS that the government is trying to sabotage today’s make-or-break Sadc summit on Zimbabwe in South Africa, cast a dark shadow over the deadlocked power-sharing deal, The Standard can report.

The MDC yesterday said several of its activists were arrested for allegedly "planning an insurgency", while Botswana dismissed Zimbabwe’s allegation that it had offered the insurgents bases as "false, baseless, and completely unfounded".

Botswana requested Zimbabwe to provide documented evidence on the allegations and invited the Sadc Organ Troika, together with Zimbabwe, to undertake a fact-finding mission to Botswana "at the earliest opportunity".

The Troika accepted the invitation.

Botswana said it was invited to an extra-ordinary meeting of the Sadc Inter-State Defence and Security Committee of the Organ Troika in Maputo, Mozambique on Wednesday last week.
At the meeting, Zimbabwe alleged that Botswana was interfering in its internal affairs and alleged that Botswana had been training MDC-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) youths to destabilise Zimbabwe since 2002.

Botswana requested that Harare provides documented evidence on the allegations.
The Troika requested Zimbabwe to provide it with documented evidence, which would be availed to Botswana.

At the Maputo meeting, Botswana re-affirmed its continued adherence to principles and policies of good neighbourliness, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

But Botswana said it reminded Zimbabwe of the existence of mechanisms for the management of bilateral relations. For example, there have been 25 annual meetings of the Botswana-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security, during which no such allegations had ever been raised.The current membership of the Organ Troika is made up of Swaziland (Chair), Mozambique (Deputy Chair) and Angola (immediate past Chair) and Botswana assured the Organ Troika and Zimbabwe that a fact-finding Mission would receive Botswana’s "fullest co-operation".

The arrests of the 11 activists from Banket and Chinhoyi, the MDC said was allegedly a ploy by Zanu PF hardliners desperate to build a case for Zanu PF to hold on to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is in charge of the police.

The Sadc leaders meeting today to tackle the Zimbabwean crisis are expected to put pressure on President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to conclude the formation of the all-inclusive government.

Sources said Zanu PF planned to present "evidence" extracted from the MDC activists detained at various police stations in Harare in an attempt to buttress its claim that the MDC was training insurgents in Botswana.

This is to justify its demands to retain control of the police.

In High Court papers, lawyers said the arrests of the MDC supporters, Terry Musona, Fanny Tembo, Fidelis Chiramba, Pieta Kaseke, Mr Manyemwe, one Agrippa, Ernest Mudimu, Larry Gaka, Collen Mutemagau, Emmanuel and Concillia Chinanzwavana was politically-motivated.
"The applicants were rounded up in Banket and Chinhoyi by unknown people who claimed to be officers from Law and Order, who were moving in a convoy of six vehicles," reads an urgent chamber application by lawyer Andrew Makoni, seeking the release of the activists, whose whereabouts are unknown.

The victims were taken to Harare, where they were reportedly detained at Braeside, Rhodesville, Highlands, Avondale, Mabelreign and Borrowdale police stations. But lawyers who visited the police stations were told the activists were not being held at the stations. Makoni said they were able to get the detention book numbers for Tembo, Chiramba and Kaseke.
The application will be heard in Chambers on Tuesday before Justice Charles Hungwe.

Women petition SADC heads over Cabinet deadlock

By Vusumuzi Sifile

WOMEN’S rights organisations have petitioned Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) heads of state "to encourage speedy resolution" of the current deadlock over the allocation of the Ministry of Home Affairs — and as it has now emerged — nine others between Zanu PF and the MDC formations.

Sadc leaders are expected to meet again soon in yet another bid to find a way of implementing a power-sharing agreement signed on September 15. Leaders of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe and the Feminists Political Education Project (FePEP) confirmed to The Standard they have already prepared communiqués to be presented at the Sadc leaders' meeting. Gender activists have also mobilized women to picket at the venue of the talks, which is yet to be confirmed.

"In addition to the communiqué, we will also be sending a delegation of women," said WCoZ co-ordinator Netsai Mushonga. "We will also mobilize civil society wherever the talks would be held to help us in sending our message across. These politicians do not seem to care about what is going on. The consequences on the ground are deadly, especially for women. As women we are very disappointed, as they are clearly negotiating in bad faith."

One of the FePEP co-ordinators, Theresa Mugadza said what was worsening the situation was the secrecy in which the talks were being held.

"The truth is that nobody knows what is happening in this process," Mugadza said. For us, this is more of an information-seeking mission, to find out what is happening."

In their petition, FePEP members said "women are continuing to die of hunger while Sadc refers the matter back and forth; hesitant to make a decision that would save people’s lives".

Reads the petition: "Your Excellencies, it is our firm belief that final resolution of the Zimbabwe question, lies fully with Sadc and history will judge Sadc harshly should it fail to arrest the exploding humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. Sadc has a responsibility and indeed a duty to help Zimbabwean leaders help themselves as they have clearly failed collectively, to resolve the issues affecting their electorate."

On Monday, over 300 WCoZ picketed outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel where members of the Sadc organ on politics, defence and security were meeting the facilitation and negotiating teams. The women, dressed in black and white, all had empty plates and pots "to display our hunger".

Their mission of getting an audience with the heads of state was however not accomplished as the police descended ruthlessly on the women. According to WCoZ, 47 women were arrested, while 11 others were injured.

Over the past month, WCoZ, FePEP and Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) have successfully mobilized women to demonstrate against the snail’s pace on the implementation of the agreement.

The women’s organisations argue "people are dying of hunger on a daily basis". They also want the incoming government to be clear on its commitment on gender parity, which according to the activists means a 50-50 allocation of roles.

Three weeks ago, the women successfully picketed at the Rainbow Towers, and were addressed by the three negotiating teams and their principals, and members of the facilitation team.

Like health, education goes to the dogs

By Vusumuzi Sifile

THE government last week tried to show a semblance of normalcy in the education sector by going ahead with Grade VII examinations and holding a graduation ceremony at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), when there was no learning for the better part of the year right from primary schools to universities.

The government also announced that the UZ would open tomorrow for the 2008/2009 academic year — almost three months after the day the new semester was supposed to have begun. Other state universities remain closed.

Lecturers, teachers and students unions on Friday slammed the move to open the UZ when the government — through higher and tertiary education permanent secretary, Washington Mbizo — acknowledged last week that staff records were in a shambles. They said the latest moves were a government attempt to "save face and create the impression that all is well".

"They cannot say they are opening for the sake of opening, like they have been doing with primary schools," said Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) president Clever Bere.

Bere said students "won’t sit idly and cowardly".

"If they want the university to open, they must ensure all is in place for the students to get quality tuition. If our demands are not met, we will not stop; we will continue to tackle the authorities head-on."

On Friday’s graduation, Bere said it was "doubtful if the results are a true reflection of what the students were supposed to have learnt since there were no proper lectures in the last semester".

Announcing the opening of the institution, Mbizo said there would be no student accommodation on campus. He however did not explain how the institution’s dilapidated ablution facilities would handle the more than 10 000 students expected at the institution.

As a result of the accommodation, transport and food, said Zinasu, students would find it "difficult to concentrate whilst hungry".

President of the Zimbabwe State University Lecturers Association (ZSULA), Government Phiri said lecturers were taking a wait and see attitude on the opening. He said it was "not practical" for lecturers to go to work tomorrow, as they will need many times more cash than they can withdraw at the bank for a one way trip.

"As long as our demands have not been met, we can not start teaching. It is not just about getting salaries, but salaries that are enough and accessible," said Phiri.

"We do not have power when it comes to deciding when the institution opens, that’s the administrative role of the Vice-Chancellor and his team. Our power is in the delivery of tuition services."

Lecturers’ representatives are on Tuesday morning scheduled to meet with officials from the Ministry of Finance to discuss payment alternatives. Phiri said only after that meeting would they be able to decide whether or not to resume duty.

Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general, Raymond Majongwe said the decision to open the UZ and administer public examinations was a "bad reflection on the government".

"Grade VII examinations were conducted in a chaotic and erratic manner. Some schools wrote after others," Majongwe said. "There were several mix-ups. In some cases, people who are not known at some schools were called to invigilate. There were certain instances where headmen also invigilated the examinations."

Although most primary and secondary schools managed to stick to their calendar, there was not much activity as teachers were on strike for the better part of this year. The situation was worsened by the political shenanigans before and after the March and June elections.

Last month, Zinasu petitioned Parliament to urgently act on "the grave distress of the students". The students union said "the infrastructure at all state institutions is in a dilapidated state" and that "reading and teaching materials are either not sufficient or not available".

The petition said because of the current economic melee, it had become "really difficult for students to sustain themselves".

UZ lecturer John Makumbe said it was a "very unwise decision to open the university now".

"It is a disaster. How can we open when there is no water? The toilets are in a terrible state right now when there is nobody there, and what when there are up to 14 000 people?" Makumbe said. "This is a perfect recipe for a cholera outbreak. It’s an unhealthy situation. There are no lecturers. We know from postgraduate courses that most lecturers have not been showing up for the obvious reason that they are not adequately paid."

At the Midlands State University authorities recalled the October salaries for lecturers. No explanation was immediately given.

Lecturers who spoke to The Standard said the move was just like dismissing them from work.

Secretary General of the MSU Lecturers’ Association (MSULA), Tenson Tawanda Mugodzwa said lecturers had been told to register again for them to be able to access their salaries.

"Although some of the lecturers went to register some did not as they felt that this was demeaning. It has never happened before. We have always known that the registration exercise only applies to students," fumed Mugodzwa.

However, those who registered also had their salaries of between $2 and $2,5 million recalled.

Nhamo Mhiripiri, a senior MSU lecturer, said the withdrawal of the salaries was humiliating. He said this was victimisation of the few lecturers still remaining in the country.

Attempts to get comment from the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Rungano Zvobgo, were fruitless. His secretary said he was attending the UZ graduation in Harare. The Registrar’s phones went unanswered.

The lecturers are demanding that professors at state universities get around US$8 000 and lecturers around US$5 000. Due to the licensing of shops to sell goods in foreign currency, lecturers, like most Zimbabweans, are now struggling to make ends meet as they cannot raise forex.

No official comment could be immediately obtained from the UZ. But speaking at the institution’s graduation on Friday, UZ Vice-Chancellor Levi Nyagura acknowledged "the past academic year had many challenges" but he said despite the challenges "the university remained focused on its core business".