Zimbabwe pushes TVET as teacher enrolment drops

GOVERNMENT has raised concern over the declining number of educators graduating from teacher training colleges, warning that the trend could deepen staffing shortages in schools amid growing calls for communities to embrace technical and vocational training.

The concern comes as Zimbabwe's education sector continues to face recruitment challenges driven by economic constraints, with many prospective students opting out of teaching due to low remuneration, difficult working conditions and limited career incentives.

Teachers' salaries, which often range between a base of US$400 and US$500 plus allowances, remain significantly below the poverty datum line estimated at above US$600, leaving many educators struggling to meet basic living costs including transport, rent, utilities and healthcare.

The gap has frequently triggered industrial action threats from unions such as the Educators Union of Zimbabwe (EUZ), which has in the past declared incapacitation over the inability of teachers to afford transport to work.

Rural schools face additional challenges, including poor infrastructure, staff shortages, large class sizes and multi-grade teaching, while educators in remote areas contend with limited access to electricity and unreliable internet connectivity, hindering the adoption of digital learning methods.

Speaking at the Nyadire Teachers College graduation ceremony, Higher and Tertiary Education deputy minister Simelisizwe Sibanda said the low output of graduating teachers was a cause for concern.

"Only 151 students are graduating — 132 female and 19 male — representing 87% female graduates, making Nyadire the only teachers' college in Mashonaland province producing the lowest figures nationally," he said.

"When you look at our graduating figures for colleges this year, there is no college which is below 600. This is not a good picture for us as a province of Mashonaland, which is the hub of this nation."

He urged communities in Mashonaland Province to encourage more students to pursue teacher training, saying local recruitment would help address staffing gaps in schools within the region.

"We challenge our communities in this great province to think about sending their children to this college, so that the teachers that we find in our province are people that are coming from our province," he said.

Despite concerns over enrolment figures, Sibanda commended Nyadire Teachers College for adopting the government's Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model and integrating Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) programmes aimed at equipping students with practical skills.

The college has introduced entrepreneurial business units and now offers programmes including a National Certificate in Professional Cookery and a National Foundation Certificate in Bakery and Food Preparation.

"We request that communities take this programme, that is, TVET, very seriously, looking at the number of students that are graduating today. It is very low," Sibanda said.

"We believe in making sure that in every community, we find all the necessary skills so that whenever we need someone to do something within the communities, we don't go to Harare."

He said the institution had also enrolled students under inclusive education initiatives, including four learners with disabilities and five beneficiaries under the government's Web4Fees programme, and urged further expansion of such access.

Sibanda also commended graduate-led initiatives that have resulted in the establishment of three primary schools in underserved rural areas of Uzumba-Maramba Pfungwe, Mutoko and Chipinge, describing them as examples of education-driven community development.

The developments reflect a broader shift in Zimbabwe's tertiary education landscape as government promotes skills-based training alongside traditional academic pathways, even as the teaching profession continues to struggle with retention and attractiveness.