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Primary school children in Harare, Zimbabwe, walk home after reporting to school on November 9, 2020, seven months after schools closed due to the Covid -19 pandemic. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Aaron Ufumeli)
The education sector in Zimbabwe has been deteriorating rapidly, but the government is unfazed. This year, due to Covid-19 and striking teachers, the majority of students have not received any teaching. Inequalities in education have widened and education is becoming a luxury that most people cannot afford. What will happen to the children of Zimbabwe?
In January 2020, Zimbabwean teachers did not return to work when schools were opened. They said they were disabled, did not have money for transportation to and from work, and did not have money to buy food to eat at work. They also said that they couldn’t afford to dress for work.
Not only that, the teachers explained that with their meager salaries, they could not afford to pay their own children’s school fees in the same schools in which they taught. They said they could not afford to buy uniforms, school shoes, office supplies, textbooks and lunches for their children who attended school. They also lamented that they could no longer afford to pay domestic workers to take care of their children while they worked.
There were endless negotiations between the various teachers’ unions in the country, but despite the comings and goings, the teachers and their employer (government) were unable to reach a proper compromise. The teachers decided that they would go back to school, but would only go for a few days. Some schools had lessons only once a week, others twice a week, and the lucky ones had lessons three days a week.
The first term of each year is important as this is when students in the new grades are introduced to new programs and concepts. It is in the first quarter that students are introduced to new teachers and they should become familiar with the teaching styles of those teachers. It is in the first quarter that teachers become familiar with new students and adapt to their abilities, deficiencies, and learning styles.
Zimbabwean students and teachers did not go through this process in 2020.
Instead, the government through its state media – newspapers, radio and television – ignored the strike, pretending that nothing was happening. They wanted to portray an image that everything was fine.
Children in private schools, however, went to school normally as of January 2020.
In March 2020, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the government issued a directive to close schools.
The administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on September 22 that students taking the Seventh Grade Ordinary and Advanced Level Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) exams would be required to return to class on Monday, September 28. to begin preparations for their final exams. All other grades returned on November 9.
Most Zimbabweans live in rural areas. They do not have access to the Internet due to poor network coverage and poverty, which means that very few have smartphones or laptops with which their children can access online learning platforms. Most of Zimbabwe’s rural areas are also not electrified.
The government announced that universities, colleges and schools were to teach lessons virtually during the closure period and there was a protest from parents and students about how this was an impossible feat for students in rural areas and poor urban dwellers who, even if had smartphones, they couldn’t afford to buy data for their children to participate in virtual lessons.
In an attempt to once again portray a false image of normalcy, the government introduced radio lessons. They failed miserably to address the challenge as, again, rural students were excluded as many did not have radio or even electricity.
This means that between March and November 2020, the majority of Zimbabwean students had no access to education.
However, during the same period, children in private schools were learning through various online learning methods, such as ZOOM and Google Classroom. They were able to have virtual lessons and do class work and homework and send homework to teachers for grading.
The opening of schools on 9 November brought with it countless challenges. Teachers again announced that they were disabled, citing the same reasons as at the beginning of the first quarter. The government offered a 40% salary increase that the teachers rejected and called a mockery. They promised not to return to school until they were paid a living wage.
The 40% increase would have resulted in teachers earning ZW $ 18,237 (approximately R2,500). The teachers demanded at least 520 US dollars (around R7,900), which is what they were earning before the government returned to local currency.
The government threatened to fire the striking teachers and replace them with unemployed teachers desperate for work. One of the teachers’ unions, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), agreed that its teachers would return to work, prompting an exodus of teachers from the union, as they believed the union was no longer meeting their needs.
Other unions stood firm and refused to return to work until their complaints were resolved.
Some teachers have returned to work out of fear of victimization and unemployment, but most simply go to register, but not teach. The government is fine with this situation, since all it wants is to portray an image of normality, even at the cost of education.
Children of the majority of Zimbabwe’s elite attend private schools and have not been much affected by teacher strikes and Covid-19. Zimbabwean government officials also send their children to private schools, which could explain why they are neglecting the plight of public schools. Teachers and parents who denounce the death of education in the country are victimized by the government and accused of being “agents of regime change” paid by the West to destabilize the country.
The education sector in Zimbabwe has deteriorated rapidly and the government is unfazed.
In 2019, several schools reported a zero percent pass rate. This was shocking and when I interviewed the teachers in the affected schools they said they did not have enough teaching materials. They did not have textbooks in schools and parents could not afford to buy textbooks. They also said that many students were unable to pay school fees, which made it difficult for schools to function.
At one school, the principal explained that most of his students couldn’t afford exercise books, so they couldn’t take notes, couldn’t write class work and homework, making it difficult for students to remember concepts, and that teachers will evaluate progress.
A teacher from another school explained that some of her students walked up to 15 km to get to the school. He said that many of his students were too tired or hungry to learn, as most walked these distances on an empty stomach. She said her school used to receive donations of porridge and beans and that students could at least eat a day at school, but the school was no longer receiving those food donations. He explained that the teachers weren’t motivated either because they were hungry too.
There is a crisis in education in Zimbabwe and the government is turning a blind eye. Covid-19 has made things worse with many schools closed due to an increase in Covid-19 infections. Schools were opened despite teachers explaining that they did not have the proper PPE and that most schools did not have the capacity to meet Covid-19 requirements. Students in most schools have to share scarce resources, such as textbooks and desks, so physical distancing is nearly impossible.
Due to water shortages, many schools do not have running water, making it difficult to ensure constant hand washing. This is compounded by a shortage of funds to purchase hand sanitizers. Most parents cannot afford to buy PPE or hand sanitizer for their children. To portray an image of normalcy and pretend that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe, the government opened schools and the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) announced the dates of the exams.
Teachers and parents protested against the measure to make students write final exams when the entire educational year had been lost due to Covid-19 and the disability of parents, teachers, schools and students.
How can students who haven’t learned anything since January write tests? How can examinations proceed when many schools have been forced to close due to Covid-19 outbreaks? Who will monitor the exams considering that most of the teachers are on strike? How will physical distancing be managed, given that many schools do not have enough furniture or enough classrooms?
Robson Chere, Secretary General of the Merged Zimbabwe Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ) says they have launched a campaign to help save education as the government is not prioritizing this sector in Zimbabwe. He says that education has been privatized, putting it out of the reach of most families.
Children of the majority of Zimbabwe’s elite attend private schools and have not been much affected by teacher strikes and Covid-19. Zimbabwean government officials also send their children to private schools, which could explain why they are neglecting the plight of public schools. Teachers and parents who denounce the death of education in the country are victimized by the government and accused of being “agents of regime change” paid by the West to destabilize the country.
What will happen to the children of Zimbabwe when the government buries its head in the sand and ignores the plight of education in the country?
Education is a basic human right and to pretend that everything is fine in the education sector, when nothing is right, is an abuse of human rights. It is also unfair to have a situation where only the elite children have access to a quality education. All children deserve the same opportunities, especially in education. DM / MC
Thandekile Moyo is a Zimbabwean writer and human rights activist.
