Shona teachers in Matebeleland Primary and Secondary Schools

People with a defeatist mental say that it is too late to address the issue of domination of the Shona-speaking teachers in Matabeleland schools. They state it is the proverbial locking of stable doors after the horses have galloped away.

Recent press releases have touched upon this thorny and tribally-politically sensitive issue. There are reports that one Matabeleland primary school has only one iSiNdibele-speaking teacher. One wonders whether this teacher is now a specialist ISiNdebele subject teacher, teaching all grades at that primary school. As far as the writer is aware Zimbabwean schools are yet to adopt subject-specific teachers in early years education or at primary school. One can only speculate that the 'conscientious' Chi-Shona speaking teachers are professionally driven enough to teach IsiNdebele at the level. It is highly unlikely that they are doing justice to this subject if that is the case. The author understands that teaching a language is inseparable from disseminating cultural values. So again it is not likely that Chi-Shona speaking teachers have become champions of Ndebele culture overnight.

The big question is: Does it really matter if Chi-Shona-speaking teachers 'overrun' Matebeleland schools? One can almost hear a unanimous positive response from both Chi-Shona and IsiNdebele-speaking educationalists, politicians and lay people. The answer to that question is obliviously yes it matters which language of instruction is utilised at this level.

It matters that the innocent children of Matabeleland be taught by teachers proficient in the children's vernacular language as a 'subject'.  At this level it is crucial that children are taught in their language to aid their learning. This will lead to good grounding of different subjects including Science, Mathematics and even foreign languages like English. Explanations should be given in the language that children are proficient in in order to make learning interesting and long lasting. Local languages should be used alongside English language which is currently the national language of instruction in Zimbabwean schools. Chi-Shona has not yet attained this status (and it is hoped that it  will not attain it). Educational achievements at this level are both directly and indirectly linked to the language of instruction. It is not surprising that results in schools based in Matebeleland are lagging behind those schools in other regions utilising local languages. Admittedly, poor results in Matebeleland schools have multifunctional causes including under-resourcing of the said schools. This should not be used to mask the effects of non-IsiNdebele speaking teachers' contribution. 

Some of our fellow countrymen have been misled to believe that this is another phase in the '1979 Grand Plan'. The author does not believe that this is the result of a deliberate policy by some government department, let alone the revered Ministry of Education. The author would like to propose that the domination of Chi-Shona speaking teachers in Matabeleland Primary schools is 'purely' accidental. That it is the by-product of many years of discrimination in the work place and other influential spheres of life. The Minister of Education, the Principals of teaching colleges, the Regional Education Officers and the Headmasters are largely from the Chi-Shona speaking tribes. This has led inadvertently to the hiring of ChiShona speaking students at colleges and to the subsequent domination of qualified teachers. To bridge the gap, untrained teachers have been deployed similarly leading to the cumulative hiring of Shona-speaking teachers of all grades. The primary aim of hiring 'wekumusha' is to have a share in the economic pie not to necessarily fulfil the so called '1979 Grand Plan'. This system is replicated in other public and private departments. For economic reasons. Nothing more and nothing less. The author does not necessarily dismiss the effects of the 1979 Grand Plan, but that will be left for another day.

Mr Job Sikhala thinks that forced uniformity equates to unity. This kind of thinking has dogged Zimbabwe since independence, if Zimbabweans had a capacity to learn they should have grasped the reality that uniformity is not synonymous to unity, in actual fact this is usually the cause of nasty conflicts the world over. Diversity in unity is the true essence of unity, this concept seems to elude most Zimbabweans including Mr Job Sikhala who has suggested that the issue of deployment of non-Ndebele speaking teachers in the Matebeleland region can be easily resolved by ensuring that every child in the country learns Ndebele, Shona and English. What Mr Sikhala does not realise is that this is not useful in the Zimbabwean context, for this will mean an influx of Shona teachers in Matebeleland and no corresponding Ndebele teachers into MaShonaland. Mr Sikhala's proposal is not the only ridiculous proposition which has been proffered in recent days, Mr Jabulani Sibanda the acerbic and vile war vet, is of the view that the cause of the Shona teacher deployment in Matebeleland is due to the shortage of Teacher Training Colleges in the region, oh! My Lord, what rubbish is that, the simple truth is that Ndebele speaking people are denied opportunities/places in colleges; these colleges may be in Matebeleland or Mashonaland, the discrimination is engrained, deep-seated and entrenched. The existing Colleges in the region should start accepting Ndebele applicants.

How can we readdress this anomaly?
 Multifunctional causes call for multifunctional approaches. The single most important approach advocated here is positive discrimination. IsiNdebele-speaking teachers of all grades should make up 75% and above of teachers deployed in Matebeleland. These teachers will be responsible for overseeing the envisaged additional educational resources for the Matebeleland region. Other measures include providing adequate financial and other material resources to improve standards in Matebeleland schools. The author holds the strong view that only the IsiNdebele-speaking teachers can be entrusted with safeguarding the interests of Ndebele culture. That should be the starting point. Please note that the author advocates IsiNdebele-speaking teachers as opposed to Ndebele people. The Ndebele teachers deployed in Mashonaland schools are noted to be Shona-speaking and they actually form a very tiny minority. Shona teachers fluent in IsiNdebele should be welcome in primary schools in Matebeleland and they too should account for a tiny minority.

Failure to introduce positive discrimination favouring less qualified but able IsiNdebele-speaking candidates will perpetuate the current slow cultural genocide, which is not acceptable and should be avoided at all cost.  Contrary to what most people think, there is a political solution to this issue. Devolution of power comes to mind. This is the position advocated by ZAPU and other progressive political and civil organisations. Devolution of power in this instance would allow for local people to make decisions pertaining to the educational aspirations of people in a particular region. This should encompass resource allocation including deployment of suitably qualified and culturally competent teachers in a given region. In the long term this can address the current problems in schools in Matebeleland.
We need an audit exploring the state of education facilities and resources in Matebeleland. Thorough investigation needs to be undertaken to enable proper evaluation of the causes, effects and possible solutions to the current educational challenges in Matebeleland.

Mr Bokane Vundla is the member of ZAPU-Europe's 'Inform Team', the Inform Team is a technical committee which falls under the auspices of the Information, Publicity and Marketing Portfolio. Mr Vundla is the leader of the Information sub-committee. These are Mr Vundla's personal opinions and should be regarded as such, he can be contacted on: jimayima@yahoo.co.uk