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Cash crunch paralyses Zimbabwe's education offices
27 Jul 2026 at 09:47hrs |
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Zimbabwe's public education system is facing growing financial strain, with district education offices reportedly struggling to carry out basic administrative functions due to shortages of stationery, printing materials and other essential office supplies, exposing what education stakeholders describe as widening funding gaps in the sector.
The challenges have brought renewed attention to the sustainability of the country's education financing model, as district offices that are expected to operate using Treasury allocations have increasingly relied on the Better Schools Programme of Zimbabwe (BSPZ) to fund routine operations.
With BSPZ funds currently frozen following corruption investigations, education officials say critical services, including printing official documents and conducting school audits, have been severely disrupted.
The funding concerns come as the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) prepares to petition Parliament on Tuesday under its Go Public, Fund Education campaign, calling for increased public investment in education.
Education officials, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said several district offices had virtually run out of essential supplies, forcing them to ask members of the public to photocopy or print official correspondence themselves.
"We can no longer print letters for our stakeholders because we do not have bond paper or toner for printers," one official said.
"In many cases, we ask clients to photocopy or print the documents themselves because we simply do not have the resources. The lack of funding is taking a serious toll on our work."
Officials said the situation deteriorated after the suspension of BSPZ, a programme established in 1993 to improve teacher development, strengthen school management and enhance learning through decentralised school clusters.
The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion suspended the programme after freezing its bank accounts while investigating allegations of financial abuse involving some provincial and district education officials.
According to officials, the suspension removed a key source of operational funding, leaving district offices unable to meet even basic administrative requirements.
The shortages have also reportedly affected investigations into alleged financial misconduct in schools, with a lack of resources limiting the ability of auditors to travel and verify reported cases.
"There are several reports of suspected abuse of school funds that remain unattended," another official said.
"The normal procedure is for auditors to first verify the allegations before disciplinary or legal action can be taken. However, the availability of auditors has become a major challenge because of limited resources, resulting in many cases remaining unresolved for long periods."
However, Primary and Secondary Education Ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro rejected claims that district offices were operating without government funding.
"Some people may not be telling the truth because the ministry is providing funding," Ndoro said.
"Budget releases were made recently through provincial accounts. It is not correct to say there are no resources at all. They may simply not be making proper follow-ups on their allocations."
Ndoro also dismissed suggestions that schools were expected to finance audit teams, saying doing so would compromise the auditors' independence.
"The government assigns auditors and caters for their travel and subsistence allowances. Provincial or head offices deploy them and provide the necessary funding. If there are delays, it is not because schools are expected to pay them," he said.
Teacher unions, however, argue that the difficulties facing district offices point to broader weaknesses in the financing of Zimbabwe's education system.
Zimta secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said education should be adequately financed through the national budget instead of relying on external programmes such as BSPZ.
"The ministry must ensure that funds released by the Treasury reach district offices so that officials are not forced to burden schools and members of the public with the costs of photocopying, printing and other basic administrative expenses," Taderera said.
He noted that while education received a larger budget allocation this year, many district offices continued to experience serious operational challenges.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said the growing reliance on fundraising initiatives in schools reflected government's failure to adequately fund education.
"Most of these fundraising programmes were created as a response to a funding crisis," Majongwe said.
"The solution is for the government to fund education holistically. District offices should not be looking for money from poor communities to perform basic administrative functions."
Majongwe added that it was unfair for schoolchildren and their families to effectively subsidise the operation of the education system.
"We cannot continue witnessing extravagance and opulence at the national level while government offices cannot afford basic necessities such as stationery, printing paper and office supplies," he said.
He warned that inadequate funding created conditions that could encourage corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies, as officials are forced to improvise with limited resources.
The challenges have brought renewed attention to the sustainability of the country's education financing model, as district offices that are expected to operate using Treasury allocations have increasingly relied on the Better Schools Programme of Zimbabwe (BSPZ) to fund routine operations.
With BSPZ funds currently frozen following corruption investigations, education officials say critical services, including printing official documents and conducting school audits, have been severely disrupted.
The funding concerns come as the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) prepares to petition Parliament on Tuesday under its Go Public, Fund Education campaign, calling for increased public investment in education.
Education officials, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said several district offices had virtually run out of essential supplies, forcing them to ask members of the public to photocopy or print official correspondence themselves.
"We can no longer print letters for our stakeholders because we do not have bond paper or toner for printers," one official said.
"In many cases, we ask clients to photocopy or print the documents themselves because we simply do not have the resources. The lack of funding is taking a serious toll on our work."
Officials said the situation deteriorated after the suspension of BSPZ, a programme established in 1993 to improve teacher development, strengthen school management and enhance learning through decentralised school clusters.
The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion suspended the programme after freezing its bank accounts while investigating allegations of financial abuse involving some provincial and district education officials.
According to officials, the suspension removed a key source of operational funding, leaving district offices unable to meet even basic administrative requirements.
The shortages have also reportedly affected investigations into alleged financial misconduct in schools, with a lack of resources limiting the ability of auditors to travel and verify reported cases.
"There are several reports of suspected abuse of school funds that remain unattended," another official said.
"The normal procedure is for auditors to first verify the allegations before disciplinary or legal action can be taken. However, the availability of auditors has become a major challenge because of limited resources, resulting in many cases remaining unresolved for long periods."
However, Primary and Secondary Education Ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro rejected claims that district offices were operating without government funding.
"Some people may not be telling the truth because the ministry is providing funding," Ndoro said.
"Budget releases were made recently through provincial accounts. It is not correct to say there are no resources at all. They may simply not be making proper follow-ups on their allocations."
Ndoro also dismissed suggestions that schools were expected to finance audit teams, saying doing so would compromise the auditors' independence.
"The government assigns auditors and caters for their travel and subsistence allowances. Provincial or head offices deploy them and provide the necessary funding. If there are delays, it is not because schools are expected to pay them," he said.
Teacher unions, however, argue that the difficulties facing district offices point to broader weaknesses in the financing of Zimbabwe's education system.
Zimta secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said education should be adequately financed through the national budget instead of relying on external programmes such as BSPZ.
"The ministry must ensure that funds released by the Treasury reach district offices so that officials are not forced to burden schools and members of the public with the costs of photocopying, printing and other basic administrative expenses," Taderera said.
He noted that while education received a larger budget allocation this year, many district offices continued to experience serious operational challenges.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said the growing reliance on fundraising initiatives in schools reflected government's failure to adequately fund education.
"Most of these fundraising programmes were created as a response to a funding crisis," Majongwe said.
"The solution is for the government to fund education holistically. District offices should not be looking for money from poor communities to perform basic administrative functions."
Majongwe added that it was unfair for schoolchildren and their families to effectively subsidise the operation of the education system.
"We cannot continue witnessing extravagance and opulence at the national level while government offices cannot afford basic necessities such as stationery, printing paper and office supplies," he said.
He warned that inadequate funding created conditions that could encourage corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies, as officials are forced to improvise with limited resources.
Source - Newsday
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