Educational devolution provides better learning opportunities for every child

After the independence of Zimbabwe, the education reforms focused on the integration of the formerly racially separate education system. Zimbabwe adopted a system of free education at primary and secondary schools in 1980 under the banner of 'education for all'.  The introduction of free education attracted a massive enrolment in primary and secondary schools.  Schools in rural and farming areas that were deprived during the colonial administration witnessed high school enrolments. Funding for education was meant to come from the taxes through budget allocation to the ministry of education; and funds from donor and non-government organisations. Some of the funds were diverted from former white schools to fund the upsurge of schools in black communities. Zimbabwe educational decision making was centralised and continues to be so. The regional offices act on behalf of central government in recruiting teachers and, supervision of schools using the allocated budgets that are approval by the secretary of education.

The introduction of 'education for all' did not take long for the quality of education to suffer due to government fiscal constraints overwhelming by the demand for school places. The outcome was that education became an access and a containment of children as many of them left secondary schools unable to read and write. In the face of financial constraints government then introduced School Development Committees to transfer the cost running schools from it to the communities but the decision making authority remained central to government.

The economic inequalities in the Zimbabwe's social structure saw schools in urban areas and those run by churches better resourced than those schools in rural and farming areas. There is a further disparity from one region to the other in terms of government attention in educational development and resourcing. The marginalisation of schools is attributed to political overtures with schools situated in political contested regions suffering neglect by government.   

There is also an existence of a monumental disconnect between Zimbabwe's education and the needs of the economy. The country does not produce the human capital appropriate enough to drive the social and physical economy of the country. Zimbabwe is not producing high quality personal in computer technology, engineering, science, manufacturing and entrepreneurship.

Educational devolution is increasingly becoming popular around the world from the centre down to the local schools. Devolution of power provides greatest advances and opportunity to reform the functions of government as it becomes the mainstay that brings educational decision making closer to the local communities. This means that educational decision making and implementation is executed by the level of government closest to the individual learner. Local communities become the power hold within their defined functions.  The focus of devolution of education is on power, functions, resources and service delivery. The local education board working with the provincial legislature provides initiatives for localised development of skills, knowledge, attitudes, values and innovation to promote the development of education within their schools.

The expectation in educational devolution is that decision making is closer to the school level to foster a degree of student and teacher motivation, parents' participation, a sense of ownership, curriculum adaptation to local settings and community willingness to contribute financially to the school (Hanson 1989). Therefore, the policy perspectives of educational devolution are based on the initiatives to increase educational management efficiency; redistribution of educational financial responsibilities; distributing educational decision making power to local communities; increasing control through deregulation; adopting market based education and improving the quality of education.  

Key functional and fiscal decisions, including appointing heads of school and allocating provincial education budgets lie with the provincial legislature through the provincial education boards.  These decisions may be delegated to school committees. Fiscal autonomy and, arguably, fiscal accountability is higher when provincial governments are empowered to manage finances to meet the needs of their schools.

Educational devolution is a remedy for the current ZANU PF centralised education management that is opaque, inefficient, that produces poor educational services, poor quality of teachers and poor schools results. The centralised educational management system is fraught with a lot of irregularities that include a lack of the supply of instructional and learning materials, and the existence of substandard and inadequate school buildings and equipment in many rural and farming communities.

The rational for educational devolution is that it increases educational functional and fiscal autonomy to local authorities and participation in local decision-making structures. Educational devolution is also a means to fight corruption that is widespread in centralised government educational supplies procurement departments and it controls the creation of ghost teachers. Devolution promotes the provision of educational equity across the country and promotes the efficient use and allocation of educational resources including appropriate and effective deployment of teachers.

The funding for education under devolution of power is provided by the transfer of money from the central government equitable to provincial legislatures.  The provincial government receives funding sufficient to cover the educational budget for each province based on laid down budget allocation formulas. The local government can make further budget allocations to schools under its control.

The promise for devolution of power is an attempt to redistribute educational and other social and economic resources equitably across the country so that schools in remote areas enjoy the same educational benefits as those in affluent and politically connected areas. Educational localism is an effective approach that is managed, planned and controlled by functional institutions closer to the child.