Zanu PF education policies a deliberate assault on Matabeleland's future: MRP

The Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) has accused the Zanu PF government of deliberately destroying the education system in Matabeleland, warning that collapsing standards in Bulawayo and the wider region amount to a direct assault on the future of local communities.

MRP President Mqondisi Moyo said the situation on the ground exposes what he described as a long‑running political agenda against Matabeleland.

"What confronts the nation today is not a temporary crisis but a sustained, politically engineered breakdown of the education system — one that offers unshakable proof that the 1979 Grand Plan remains the operative doctrine guiding Zanu PF's governance of Mthwakazi," he said.

Moyo said education authorities in Bulawayo had presided over an "unforgivable collapse of standards", failing to enforce regulations, maintain infrastructure or protect learners.

"There is no vision, no urgency, and no corrective strategy in sight — only silence and indifference," he said.

He said former "Group A" government schools in Bulawayo, once maintained to high standards, now show visible signs of abandonment, with decaying infrastructure ignored by authorities.

"Crumbling classrooms, unsafe roofs, broken windows, collapsing ablution facilities, and neglected grounds define institutions that should represent excellence. A tour of Milton High School reveals not prestige but hidden rot — structural decay masked by history and reputation," he said.

Moyo warned that the neglect is dangerous and could soon lead to a fatal incident, after which authorities would "issue empty statements while escaping accountability".

He said the social consequences are already visible, with learners disengaging from school environments that resemble "prisons or ruins", leading many into crime and substance abuse.

"This is not moral failure on the part of children; it is systemic betrayal," he said.

Moyo said the 2025 Grade 7 results confirmed the collapse, with 11 schools in Matabeleland South and 20 in Matabeleland North recording a 0% pass rate.

"These numbers are not anomalies; they are the predictable outcome of sustained neglect and policy abandonment. No serious government tolerates even one such school. Zanu PF tolerates dozens — almost exclusively in Matabeleland," he said.

He argued that the failures follow a political geography, not a national trend.

Moyo also accused the government of cultural sabotage through the deployment of non‑local teachers who cannot speak Ndebele or other local languages, forcing children to learn in Shona during early childhood development.

"This practice undermines comprehension, fractures identity, and permanently disadvantages learners. It is not pedagogical ignorance; it is cultural engineering," he said.

He criticised the absence of enforceable infrastructure standards, saying rural schools operate in roofless structures and dilapidated buildings that would never be tolerated in Harare.

"This is the clearest evidence of a two‑tier education system. Harare institutions are modernised and resourced. Bulawayo and rural Matabeleland schools are ignored, underfunded, and abandoned," he said.

Moyo said the people of Mthwakazi do not deserve such "degrading and dangerous treatment", especially when children are expected to become future professionals.

"Education is the foundation of development; when that foundation is rotten, society collapses into chaos and decay," he said.

He said Zanu PF owes Matabeleland a public apology and a full explanation for collapsing infrastructure, cultural and linguistic marginalisation, and the shameful Grade 7 outcomes.

"This crisis did not happen by accident. It happened by design, by neglect, and by political choice," he said.