By Dr Takavafira Zhou.
Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – greetings cdes. After the deferment of the reopening of schools due to our herculean resistance against ill-informed intentions to prematurely open schools by Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education officials and some yellow teacher union leaders irrigating their pants, there are several fault lines that need our collective scrutiny.
A major fault line is the issue of serious discrepancies in salaries received by teachers in comparison to other sectors particularly police, soldiers, University Lecturers and top civil servants. We are all aware that at entry point teachers’ salaries were slightly higher than that of police and soldiers and one third of salaries received by University Lecturers. As such, giving teachers $1200 as 50 percent covid 19 allowance, soldiers and police $5000 to $9000, University Lecturers $19000 to $33000, top civil servants $25000 to $40000, baffles logic and common sense. Consequently, teachers received salaries ranging from $3800 to $4500 yesterday whereas police and soldiers received salaries ranging from $10 000 to $18000, top civil servants $50000 to $80000 and lecturers would receive salaries ranging from $38 000 to $66 000.
While we dont begrudge these salaries, we certainly need an explanation from gvt as teachers in order to understand its selective forgetfulness. Contrary to perception of some malcontents within the teacher trade union movement, this is not pursuit of any political party agenda but rather pursuit of monumental labour justice and a stand against unfair labour practice, callousness, prejudice, narrow-mindedness and political bigotry. It is a call for responsible leadership, transparency, accountability, political security and equity. If this is a product of belonging to Apex Council as George Charamba would like us to believe, then to hell with Apex Council that has become a liability rather than an asset. We know this may not necessarily have anything to do with the moribund and obsolete Apex Council but we certainly need an explanation to teachers from gvt as opposed to Charamba’s high sounding nothing if not tissue of representation.
A considerable number of teachers turned to agony, anguish and wailing after receiving the starvation wages. Our view as Ptuz is that there is no need to regret for being a teacher, and teachers must never mentally resign although they physically remain teachers in Zimbabwe. The situation where 99 percent of teachers have mentally resigned although they physically remain as teachers is not enviable for the profession. Rather teachers across the country must get organised and force their leaders to collectively unite and seek for an explanation from gvt as it is within the purview of trade unionism to do so. There is also need for unity in our diversity in clamouring for the restoration of our October 2018 salaries pegged at US$550. The restoration of our purchasing power parity is a dispute of right that must unite teachers across the union and non-union divide. There is no need to try to politicise such a clear labour issue. As long as our politics is non partisan but focused on creating a credible education system in Zimbabwe there is nothing to fear except fear itself.
We also note that deferment must have been followed by engagement between Ministry officials and union leaders over what should be done when and how? Sadly, we hear that gvt has already penciled ‘O’ and ‘A’ examinations for January 2021 without consulting those nearer to pupils, viz, teachers. Nothing is also planned in terms of establishing a robust Task Force comprising trade unions, health and education officials in order to carry a covid 19 risk assessment and advice accordingly, when and how schools can open. The general assumption that intelligence resides in big offices at Head Office ( as if knowledge comes through osmosis by virtue of occupying a big office) is not only puzzling but vogue and vacuous. The best way of introducing reforms in the education system is to engage teachers and proceed through consensus. Command Education will never give best results. There is urgent need to motivate teachers so that they find dynamic ways of helping their students even during this covid lockdown, particularly through class and subject WhatsApp groups that also ordinarily include sending work to and from students through parents’ phones as well as feedback. Sadly, the Ministry engaged in radio and television lessons without serious engagement with unions with the consequent failure to smoothly take off as in essence more than 75 percent of students have no access to radio and television frequencies.
As Ptuz we urge the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to mellow down to a more constructive approach of meaningful engagement with union leaders, logical disputation rather than seeking rubber stamping of weird programs by teachers.
Teachers brim with and exude best intentions to assist their students and must be taken seriously by officials, rather than to be taken as if they are of no account. Teaching is the mother of all professions, yet in Zimbabwe teachers have fallen from grace to grass with monotonous regularity. Guarantee our health, safety and welfare and allow us our professional space to assist students during lockdown and after. Our intellect and acumen are at the disposal of gvt in order to ensure sustainable development of the nation. But our best can never be realised when our health, safety and welfare are not a gvt priority. Invest in our safety, health, welfare and quality public education and see how we will become a vital cog of a skills revolution and national development. We are everything, yet we now count for nothing. We manage the world’s best asset, viz, students, and must be respected together with the asset we manage in order to foster development.
For our children, ourselves, community and national development, address issues to deal with our health, safety and welfare as a matter of urgency. Teachers of Zimbabwe unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains of poverty, and a nation to develop and a better future to shape.
Venceremos
Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)
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