'Zimbabwe govt education policies inconsistent'

TEACHERS have castigated government for policy inconsistency after it cancelled its ban on holiday lessons.

Yesterday, most schools were enrolling pupils for two-week vacation lessons. In a circular dated August 2, 2022 seen by NewsDay, Primary and Secondary Education ministry secretary Tumisang Thabela gave schools the greenlight to conduct holiday lessons.

"This strategy should provide an opportunity for pupils to catch up with the syllabus demands in preparation of their summative examinations at the end of the year in view of the lost learning time experienced during the long school disclosures," Thabela said.

"A zero budget principle should be implemented for the Holiday lessons (budgeting for the activities only without any profit or loss at the end of the session)."

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe, however, criticised government for policy inconsistency.

"A government or leadership that does not consult always blunders and falters. It's the tragedy of our government for some funny reason, it comes up with very preposterous ideas, impose unpopular views on schools and structures and at the end of the day it is forced to swallow its pride," Majongwe said.

Zimbabwe National Union of School Heads secretary-general Munyaradzi Majoni confirmed that schools were now conducting holiday lessons after a government directive allowed them to do so.

"We received a circular from government approving us to conduct the holiday lessons within their guidelines. We commend government for realising the importance of holiday lessons. Pupils really need to catch up after COVID-19 disturbances. However, the exercise was approved at the last minute, which has resulted in confusion and anomalies as schools and parents had limited time to reach an agreement on pegging the fees," Majoni said.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure described government pronouncements as reckless.

"COVID-19 robbed learners of learning time and teachers and learners should be encouraged to bridge the gap of access to education during holidays. Examination classes are lagging behind and should have more learning time," he said.

After lifting the ban on extra lessons, schools were charging between US$5 and US$20 per subject for both Ordinary and Advanced Level subjects, while others charged a flat fee of US$80 for a two-week period.

In March this year, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission warned teachers to desist from demanding fees for extra lessons, describing it as corruption.

Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro said: "The ministry is not run by teachers' unions. Government consults widely before making policies, and teachers' unions are part of the stakeholders that government consults."