611 unregistered nursery schools face closure

Over 600 nursery schools face closure as they are not registered with the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture  and do not meet the required standards to operate.

Investigations have revealed that at least 12 000 children aged between three and five years are enrolled in the unregistered centres sprouting throughout the country.

Most of the illegal nursery schools and day care centres are being privately run as money-spinning projects rather than for the provision of early childhood learning.

The creches are a health hazard to the children as some do not meet the basic hygiene specifications.

At some pre-schools, children are overcrowded and in some instances up to 50 children use one toilet with no basins for washing hands.

Acting Secretary for Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Reverend Paul Damasane recently said the situation was unaccepta-ble.

"It is the ministry's duty to protect the public from providers of education who are bent on profiteering," he said.

"It is, therefore, incumbent upon provincial education directors to scrutinise and inspect every private early childhood development centre with a view to establishing whether or not satisfactory services are being rendered."

Rev Damasane said the ministry regarded ECD as a decisive and critical area where the foundation of basic principles and philosophy of Zimbabwe's education system are laid to prepare the child to meet future challenges.

"Government established ECDs to lead to internal efficiency and sustainability while at the same time serving as a way of modifying inequalities rooted in poverty and social discrimination by giving children from all backgrounds a fair start in school and life," he said.

Statutory Instrument 106/2005 of the Early Childhood Development Act says a total indoor playing space of 2,25 square metres for each child is required, flash water closets should be provided in the ratio of 1:8 children, while hot water and running water should be available in the centre building.

Other requirements are provision of wash basins at the ratio of 1:6 and that the ECD centre shall be maintained in safe, clean and sanitary condition, adequate indoor storage space and cloak facilities shall be provided.

Under the ECD programme, whose first phase would run from 2005 to 2010, each primary school was expected to attach at least one ECD class of four to five year olds also known as B class, which would then proceed to Grade One the following year.

In phase two to be implemented from 2011 to 2015, another group of three to four-year olds known as class A would be attached to primary schools before proceeding the following year to ECD class B, giving pupils two-year pre-school education prior to Grade One.

Rev Damasane said the democratisation of the pre-school education policy was positively responded to and to date 5 689 schools had attached ECD B classes and 3 610 schools attached ECD A classes out of 5 730 schools in Zimbabwe.

"However, the majority of pre-school children are still to be absorbed in the system," he said.

"The average of classes absorbed in primary schools is only two, bearing in mind that an ECD class should not exceed 20 pupils. This leaves a lot of children not catered for by the Ministry, hence the mushrooming of private ECD centres which are not registered."
Rev Damasane urged provincial education directors to take appropriate measures to ensure that only those centres that meet laid down requirements operate.