By Antonnate Mugodi.
Harare, Zimbabwe (News of The South)- Education in present day Zimbabwe can be noted to have had changed as it was before mainly as a result of the current economic situation in our country.
Recent studies have revealed that the economic meltdown has negatively impacted on the education system of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s education reform in 1980 aspired to provide free and universal education to all children through the Zimbabwe Education Act, however, tuition fees and education costs have accumulated over time.
Most inadequate and operational deficiencies point to one obvious causal factor, that is, lack of resources as a result of the collapse of the economy.
For example, furniture in most educational institutions is quite a challenge. Desks, chairs, tables and stools are broken. In most institutions, there are heaps and heaps of broken furniture stacked in various locations while learners have inadequate facilities to use for sitting and writing on.
As we took it to the streets some concerned parents were saying that there are now a few places to accommodate students as schools are finding it hard to renovate their buildings. The state of buildings is even more deplorable. Classrooms and other teaching or learning rooms are inadequate, those available are dilapidated and in some cases, in a state of disrepair.
Some parents were saying that the management of public examinations was said to be chaotic and disastrous, thereby, profoundly discrediting the certification process and the entire education system.
Many teachers have left the education system to work outside the country and those who remained joined better paying sectors within the country.
Also some students are going to school without eating as they get to have one meal a day with the current economic situation. This then reduces their levels of concentration. It would really be helpful if students and also teachers are offered food at school to ensure that they all stay on top of their educational gain.
To try and better the situation, the government should increase the vote allocated for infrastructure development and reconstruction in educational institutions. All learning institutions should be provided with proper learning and teaching facilities like classrooms, specialist rooms and teachers’ accommodation. The government should partner with international stakeholders to provide the resources for the various structures required by schools.
Also, government should adequately fund examination bodies so that unnecessary fights over resources does not spill over to the public eye as this destroys the confidence that parents and students have on the education system. Any signs of chaos, mayhem or inefficiency in the running of the examinations systems discredit not just the certificates or diplomas or degrees, but the entire country’s education system.
The examination bodies should be funded adequately by the government so that unnecessary fights over resources does not spill over to the public eye as this destroys the confidence that parents and students have on the education system. Any signs of chaos, mayhem or inefficiency in the running of the examinations systems discredit not just the certificates or diplomas or degrees, but the entire country’s education system.
Above all, government should work very hard to improve the working conditions of teachers as evidence from this study clearly indicates that teachers left the education sector because of poor working conditions, particularly salaries. Education is a fundamental human right and there is no effective learning that can take place without motivated teachers. It is therefore, binding upon those organizations that promote children’s rights to be lobbied so that they mobilized resources not only for instructional materials for learners, but for motivating and retaining quality teachers as well so that students, who are their targets enjoy fully this basic human right which is education.
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