Community rejects non-Ndebele speaking teachers

The Silobela community has rejected non-Ndebele speaking teachers deployed by the government to take early childhood development classes in Donsa-Donsa, a predominately Ndebele area.

Donsa Councillor Willard Moyo said accommodating the teachers would do no good for the infant learners.

He was speaking at a recently held Zibagwe Rural District full council meeting.

"In my Ward there was a need for two Ndebele teachers for ECD," he said.

"We managed to identify qualified teachers from the area and recommended them to the ministry. However, we were shocked to learn that the two ladies were deployed elsewhere, one was deployed in Gokwe and another one in Zvimba and we are failing to understand why the government did that."

He added; "We were shocked that government sent Non-Ndebele speakers to take the ECD classes.

"We rejected them and sent them back to the ministry. That move is killing our language and culture. ECD is a foundation in terms of education and learners at that stage need to be taught with people who are conversant in their own mother language," he said.

Councillor Emmanuel Sibanda said the issue of Ndebele teachers in Kwekwe District has been worrisome.

"Ndebele teachers are a problem in Kwekwe District. It seems it's a problem for the students to be taught in Ndebele in Kwekwe. Why are we underrating Ndebele?" Sibanda quizzed.

Kwekwe District Schools Inspector Herbert Maziriri said while, he wanted learners to be taught in their mother languages, his hands are tied as deployment of teachers is done in Harare.

"It is my wish to see learners being taught in their mother tongue. It is a prerequisite in the learning process that infants must be taught in the language they understand. However, there are few ECD Ndebele teachers. At the same time deployment of teachers is now centralised as it is being done in Harare," he said.