Unqualified teachers' future hangs in the balance

THE future of teachers who hold non-teaching qualifications hangs in the balance as Government has begun intensifying efforts to ensure the country's schools are manned by qualified personnel.

Government is experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers in both primary and secondary schools, with thousands of teachers employed by Government holding non-teaching qualifications.

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora told journalists in Bulawayo recently that teachers who did not have teaching qualifications needed to acquire the requisite credentials to guarantee their stay in Government.

Dr Dokora urged the non-qualified teachers to take advantage of the Government funded Teacher Capacity Development Programme to upgrade their qualifications.

"Those who don't have teaching qualifications should know that their tenure in the education ministry is limited. We can't continue to have teachers who are not qualified and are not interested in retooling themselves.

"Teachers who hold non-teaching degrees and are employed by us, we encourage them to take advantage of the Teacher Capacity Development programme to upgrade themselves," he said.

The Teacher Capacity Development programme, a brain child of the education ministry, with input from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, was launched in July this year by President Mugabe.

A total of $5 million was set aside to fund the programme with $3 million having been availed at the launch of the programme, with Government injecting $600 000 while the other $2.4 million was donated by Unicef.

The other $2 million was secured from an unnamed source.

Minister Dokora said Government was in the process of looking for more funds to allow more teachers to benefit from the programme.

Institutions that have already started enrolling students include the Midlands State University, Bindura University of Science Education and the National University of Science and Technology.

The first batch of teachers to benefit from the programme are set to start their studies next year.

"It is our wish to have more funds for this programme because it will go a long way in improving the skills of our teachers to match modern trends. We came up with this programme as a way of building the capacity of our teachers and the effect of it will be on the quality of our education delivery system," said Dr Dokora.

Some of the disciplines available for further study under the programme include sciences, Mathematics, Education planning, building and designing, Languages, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Humanities.

Teachers taking part in the programme are doing so on a voluntary basis, contrary to reports in some sections of the media that Government had issued an ultimatum to teachers who do not have core subjects at Ordinary Level.

The teachers will have their tuition covered by Government for the duration of their study and the money will not be deducted from their salaries. They will, however, be bonded and expected to work for Government for a specified period.

Dr Dokora has on numerous occasions come under fire from teachers' unions, parents and other stakeholders for the changes he has instituted in the education sector since assuming office last year.

Among some of the changes made by Dr Dokora was the ban on payment of teachers' incentives by parents, a move that caused a huge outcry among teachers who relied on the incentives to augment their salaries.

Dr Dokora has, however, remained defiant in the face of heavy criticism, insisting that the changes were meant to bring sanity to the education sector.