African Safari -- Education in Zimbabwe: Promise or Nightmare?

 

In 1980, President Mugabee made education a priority when he took office. Ninety-one percent of the children in the country were being educated. This created great hope and high expectations for the economic health of Zimbabwe after independence.

Today, however, the public schools are in a state of crisis. Classrooms are over-crowded with 50 kids and half-day sessions. There are not enough teachers. Teachers are not paid well, and they are left unmotivated. They take on second jobs and work in the summers in order to make ends meet; they have no time to rest. Temperatures in the classrooms are too hot to bear and without any relief. 

Many kids are left behind, especially special education students. There are not enough textbooks. Parents can't afford tuition--79% ask for assistance.

Access to computers is minimal. Cynthia, a 40-year veteran in the schools, cited one school where there are 30 computers and kids get 30 minutes a week on them. Meanwhile, the cost of the Internet and equipment is prohibitive.

"Seven years ago the curriculum changed," said Cynthia. "It became highly academic and left nothing for the arts."

Sports activities also suffer in the public schools because of a lack of funding.

Cynthia has been a classroom teacher for 10 years; she has spent the past 8 years as principal of a big school.

Nevertheless, parents demand quality education for their children.

Government funding for education has been reduced and misdirected. For example, computers are provided for rural schools that have no access to electricity. Although the country's Constitution says that schools are free for all citizens, parents are obliged to pay $60 for tuition--and only 20% can afford to do so.

The economy in Zimbabwe is severely broken. Eighty-five percent of the people are unemployed. There is no manufacturing, and everything is imported. Government needs to provide schools with more resources but the ministers of education are political appointees with no expertise in education and no ideas for how to fix this crisis. 

"They are killing our educational system", said Cynthia.

Zimbabwe is rich in mineral resources, especially gold, however, corruption in government is at the core of the country's problems thus making progress elusive, she said. 

"People vote for change," she said, "but they don't see any results. Instead, they are frustrated."

Nevertheless, Cynthia stays in education and continues the good fight. 

"It is my duty," she said. "I need to do something."

She garners hope when she sees kids she's taught overcoming the system and making something of themselves. 

"That's what keeps me in the system," she said. "These children will grow up one day, and they will run the country. That is the reason I stay in education. A teacher's job is crucial to creating change!"

 

 

Our group listened intently to the problems of education in Zimbabwe as presented by two leaders--a principal in public school and a director of a private school. 

Photo by MC

 

 

 

 

As a boy, Kim lived seven kilometers from school and walked to and from there every day. He realized he had no choice but to go to school in order to have a better life, so he stuck with it. 

In 2008, while a student at the university, he met children who had no school to go to because of teachers' strikes. He and other university students decided to volunteer to help them out. When the strikes were over, the government recruited new teachers. That's how he got his start in education. 

His university degree is in health care administration but there were no jobs available in that field when he graduated. So he became a high school teacher. However, this work was not easy by any means. As a university student, he taught four classes. As a professional teacher, he taught 10 classes with 60 teen-aged students in each class. In 2017, he left the schools. In 2020 with inflation rising 1000%, he went back to teaching and created his own school. Today, he is the director of a private school.

His school has 25 students in each class. Since he receives no government help, he rents a school building and finds creative ways to pay his teachers. For example, he charges parents $150 per year and provides them with an alternative to the public school system. 

As a contrast, some elite private schools charge $5,000 tuition for each student. These are the schools where the politicians send their kids. Some send them out of the country. Kim contends that this is the reason the schools are in such crisis: the politicians don't trust their country's schools for their own kids. 

Private schools offer an alternative for parents. They provide a good education and have high passing rates unlike the public schools whose passing rates are very low. Some people have opened schools in their own homes as an alternative, however, these schools are considered illegal. 

Teachers' unions--22 of them--are aligned with the government, and they can't agree on anything. They frequently hold demonstrations in the streets, but teachers risk being jailed or even killed if they participate. 

"We are heading for disaster," said Kim. "The trigger is just waiting to go off."

"The rural areas have less access to education," said Cynthia. "The people vote if you give them something. In 2023, they voted for change, but nothing has happened. Even rural people see the failings of the politicians."

The government does not allow any outside funding for its schools like money from NGOs, foundations, or other governments. This policy makes it difficult for the schools to go beyond the crisis mode they currently experience. 

It remains to be seen what will happen to the educational system and Zimbabwe in general. As people continually say: Zimbabwe used to be the "bread basket of Africa. Now, it is its basket case."