Over 200 Bulawayo schools operating without registration

A total of 202 schools in Bulawayo are operating without registration, raising concerns over compliance and education standards, according to an Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) report compiled by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education last year.

The report shows that 171 primary schools and 31 secondary schools in the city are not formally registered, despite the province having 252 registered primary schools and 99 registered secondary institutions.

The findings come amid growing concern over the rapid expansion of schools, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas, where rising demand for education has outpaced regulatory processes.

Nationally, Zimbabwe has 11 793 schools, including 8 308 primary schools (70.4 percent) and 3 485 secondary schools (29.6 percent). However, a significant proportion of these institutions remain outside the formal registration framework.

At primary level, 6 045 schools are registered, while 894 operate as satellite schools and 1 369 are unregistered. At secondary level, 2 557 schools are registered, 697 are satellite institutions and 231 remain unregistered.

Provincial data shows that Manicaland has the highest number of registered primary schools at 867, followed by Masvingo (814) and Midlands (774). Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West recorded 740 and 623 registered primary schools respectively.

However, Manicaland also leads in unregistered primary schools at 349, followed by Mashonaland Central (226), Mashonaland West (160) and Midlands (155), highlighting widespread gaps in compliance.

Despite being highly urbanised, Bulawayo (171) and Harare (137) also recorded notable numbers of unregistered primary schools. Analysts attribute this trend to population growth in peri-urban areas, where new schools are being established faster than they can be formally approved.

At secondary level, Manicaland again tops the list with 343 registered schools, followed by Harare (340), Mashonaland East (338) and Masvingo (334), indicating a relatively balanced distribution nationwide.

Unregistered secondary schools are fewer, suggesting stronger regulatory oversight at this level. Mashonaland East (42) and Mashonaland Central (39) recorded the highest numbers, followed by Mashonaland West (37), Manicaland (33) and Bulawayo (31).

In contrast, Matabeleland North (2), Matabeleland South (6) and Masvingo (10) reported the lowest numbers of unregistered secondary schools, indicating near-universal compliance in those provinces.

Education stakeholders say the findings underscore the need for government to streamline registration processes while ensuring that all learning institutions meet required standards to safeguard the quality of education.