'Shona speaking teachers part of 1979 Grand Plan'

Former Member of Parliament for Magwegwe, educationist Felix Magalela Mafa Sibanda says that the deployment of Shona speaking teachers into the non Shona speaking territory of Matabeleland is part of the so called 1979 Grand Plan.

Speaking at the Voice Of America's Studio 7 on Thursday evening, Mafa Sibanda said that the controversial deployment of Shona speaking teachers into Matabeleland region should not be seen as a coincidence but be understood as a deliberate move by those in authority to fulfil the premises of the 1979 Grand Plan. The so called Grand Plan is a widely circulated document in Matabeleland which is purported to have been crafted by ZANU in 1979 detailing plans to make sure that in a forty year period the Shona people should have complete dominance over tribes from the Matabeleland region.

"This deployment of the Shona speaking teachers into Matabeleland is not in anyway a coincidence, it is clearly articulated in the 1979 Grand Plan and it must be viewed as part of the achievements of this programme," said Mafa.

People from Matabeleland regions have over the years been complaining of an influx of Shona speaking teachers into the regions to teach learners even in early childhood development. This according to the people of the region has been the underlining factor in the high failure rate of learners from the region.

Last week, ZANU PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo summoned the Minister of Education Lazarus Dokora to explain to him why this trend is being allowed to go on uncontrolled. Khaya Moyo's sentiments were also echoed by the ZANU PF secretary for education Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu who also said that he will ask for a report from Minister Dokora who is his deputy in the ZANU PF central committee in order to prepare a report on the matter to be tabled at the party's congress in December.

War veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda also picked up the call demanding an immediate removal of all teachers who can not speak the local language from the schools they are teaching in. The issue of the Shona speaking teachers in Matabeleland was first brought to parliament by ZANU PF senator Angelina Masuku last month in a motion discussing the state of education in the country.

Speaking on Studio 7, Mafa congratulated the ZANU PF chairman Khaya Moyo for tackling the issue head on and called for action to be taken to the call and not be left as just a talk.

"I would like to congratulate the ZANU PF Chairman Khaya Moyo for responding to this call even if it has taken him 34 years to do so but its better late than never," said Mafa. "What we expect now is action on this and not just talk."

Speaking in the same discussion, prominent Matabeleland South social and political commentator Mr Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo said that the issue should never be confused to being another of Ndebele and Shona tribal feuds but as a constitutional matter.

"This is not a Ndebele and Shona tribal matter but a constitutional issue. We will not be fair if we are going to fight against Shona dominance and promote Ndebele dominance. The issue is about the promotion and protection of all the 16 languages and cultures as enshrined in the constitution," said Maduma Fuzwayo. Fuzwayo added that the issue of Shona speaking people dominating in Matabeleland was not only limited to the Ministry of Education but to almost all the government departments in the region. Fuzwayo claimed that the unfair recognition of one tribe over other tribes in the country makes other people feel inferior citizens compared to the others there by infringing on the right to equal citizenship granted in the constitution.

"This issue extends beyond just the teachers. If you come to Matatbeleland you will find nurses, policeman and other government officials clearly refusing to speak to the people they are deployed into in their local languages demanding to use only Shona, and this is what is causing all this furore" he said.

"Matabeleland South is the rainbow province of the country because it has more than seven of the country's sixteen official languages and the constitution demands that these languages be used in the area where they are located, if in Binga people must be officially addressed in Tonga and if in Beitbridge people must be addressed in Venda and that's their constitutional right which must never be deprived of them," he added.

Contributing to the discussions on the public phone in session of the programme known as Live Talk, Zimbabweans across the country gave an overwhelming thumps up to the call to have children taught in their mother language more so at early childhood learning. Only a few callers called in with a different opinion claiming that the cries of the people of Matabeleland are purely tribal and uncalled for.

"This is just tribalism by the people of Matabeleland. Zimbabweans must be free to work any where in the country without regard to tribe. Shona is also an official language and a majority language for that matter, and so this direct discrimination is just tribalism nothing else," said one caller.

Another caller accused the people of Matabeleland of generally lacking interest in education leading to the shortage of teachers and other professionals of Matabeleland origin to work in the area.

"The majority of people from Matabeleland don't care about education all they want is to get to grade seven and then go and work in South Africa that's why there are a few qualified people from their region," said the caller.

Another contributor scorned at the people of the region claiming that if the people of Matabeleland only want Ndebele speaking teachers then government should also not deploy expatriate teachers to the region as they also can not speak local languages. Prominent educationist and former Member of Parliament for Gwanda Thandeko Zinti Mkandla also blamed the poor pass rate at the schools in Matabeleland on the government's deployment of the non Ndebele speaking teachers in SiNdebele speaking areas.

"Every child learns faster and better if they learn in their mother language. If the teacher can not speak the child's language then the child is certainly bound not to grasp whatever is being taught," said Mkandla.