Half of Zimbabwe's population has never been to school

HALF of Zimbabwe's population of 13 million people has never been to school despite the country boasting of a 96 percent literacy rate, one of the highest in the World, according to the 2012 census report.

Zimbabwe has 6 280 539 males and 6 780 700 females.

The final Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) report on the 2012 national census shows that 51 percent of the male population has never been to school with Mashonaland Central and Masvingo provinces having the highest number of uneducated men at 14,5 and 14 percent respectively.

Harare and Bulawayo provinces have the lowest with 10, 6 and 11, 3 percent respectively.

The census report, which put the national population at just over 13 million, also shows that one is more likely to get hitched in Mashonaland Central, which has the highest percentage of uneducated men.

ZimStats data shows that 49 percent of females in the country have never attended school with Mashonaland Central recording the highest at 13,9 percent.

Harare and Bulawayo provinces also recorded the lowest number of uneducated females at 9,2 and 9,8 percent respectively.

Veteran educationist and former cabinet minister Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu dismissed the statistics as being totally untrue and out of tune as Zimbabwe has made significant strides in providing a decent education for its population.

"Independent research done by the United Nations has shown Zimbabwe as being one of the most literate countries in Africa. Saying 51 percent of men in Zimbabwe have never attended school, I think is totally untrue," said Dr Ndlovu.

"The reason why we have been rated as one of the most literate population is because various measures have been put in place to ensure that every Zimbabwean is educated.

"There are adult literacy programmes. There is at least a primary school in every village around the country and there is the recently introduced ECD age catchment in schools."

Bulawayo provincial education director Dan Moyo declined to comment on the national statistics but said education was profound while literacy means being able to "read, write and calculate".

Socialite Cont Mhlanga said Zimbabwe made meaningful headway in terms of education through adult literacy campaigns soon after Independence hence the high literacy rate.

"We can only assume that Zimbabweans got educated through other platforms. Being literate does not necessarily mean literally sitting behind a desk to receive an education, it means being able to read and write which can be taught elsewhere," said Mhlanga.

According to the ZimStats 2012 report, an individual who has completed at least Grade Three is considered literate.