REPORT ON THE STAKEHOLDERS CONFERENCE:
RAPID ASSESSMENT OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
Monday 14.09.09 at Prince Edward School
The Stakeholders Conference on the Board’s Report on the Rapid Assessment of Primary and Secondary Education was well attended by Ministry officials, Board members and some partners, but unfortunately it clashed with the launch of the Education Transition Fund, which attracted most of the donor community and media. Fortunately, the Minister and Permanent Secretary were able to join us for lunch and the afternoon.
Dr Goodwill Shana (Board member) gave the opening prayer, after which the Board thanked Mr Kevin Atkinson, Headmaster of Prince Edward School, for availing its excellent facilities for the Conference. The Board Chairman, Dr Isaiah Sibanda, gave the background to the Board’s formation and its first task, the Rapid Assessment exercise. Barbara Plinkert, Head of the EC Social Sector, highlighted the importance the EU attached to the education sector, which had been neglected recently in terms of donor support. Now they were scaling up their assistance again, put 7,5 million Euro into the Education Transition Fund and were supporting school fees for OVCs through the Programme of Support to BEAM. She reminded participants that universal primary education for all is our common goal, as reflected in the MDGs.
After tea, the Report team, Dr Fay Chung, Dr Sharayi Chakanyuka and Mrs Trudy Stevenson, gave an overview of their chapters and took questions and comments.
Discussion:
Concerning poor examination results, it was suggested that the examination system itself needed review, while it was generally agreed that “the politicization of schools, particularly during 2008, has been the greatest injury to the education system.†PTUZ warned that only professionals were qualified to supervise teachers, not communities, while it was felt that the role parents played in keeping the education system alive should be recognized. It was proposed that a thorough study be undertaken on remote schools, and that the attrition rate of 196,000 per annum, meaning that 48% of never go to secondary school, required serious attention. The quality of resources, in particular water, at schools was cause for great concern. Regarding the alarming teacher-pupil ratio of 1:90 in Matabeleland South, the PED responded that they were still looking for children with 5 O levels to teach locally, particularly in the remote schools, but they could not be found. Ministry officials complained that because they were not teachers, they did not receive incentives.
Full Report
After lunch participants broke into groups to study and discuss the full report. Highlights from their report-back on recommendations were as follows:
Chapter 2: Teachers housing should be provided as an incentive, while government should engage industry for scholarships, particularly for girls. Government should implement the Nziramasanga Commissions recommendation on vocational training.
Chapters 3 & 4: There should be a time frame for teachers’ incentives. Ministry should engage partners about compensation to victims of the violence in 2008. There should be an independent body responsible for teachers’ promotion.
Chapters 5, 6 and 7: Groups generally agreed with the findings and recommendations. It was however felt that all teachers should have some special education training, and that vulnerable children should be supported for all their needs (food, clothes, transport, child care, etc), not only school fees.
Textbooks: The Curriculum review is long overdue, in addition to which government should promote e-learning.
SDCs: It was recommended that the Head be the accounting officer, however there was heated debate over length of tenure of members, the group recommending only one year but many participants disagreed and thought 2 years was preferable.
The Minister, Senator David Coltart, responded to the discussion by thanking everyone and undertaking to build consensus within the Ministry and in Cabinet, among all three political parties, on the recommendations. Concerning free primary education, he felt there is need for balance in order to assist those who genuinely cannot afford fees, while involving parents in their children’s education. He undertook to make the Nziramasanga Report public, and asked the Board to make the Rapid Assessment Report widely available and publish it on internet.
Concerning Chapter 3 (teachers), he explained that the anticipated increase in national revenue from July’s $96 million had not transpired, while processing the amnesty was taking a long time because only the Permanent Secretary was authorized to deal with the matter. He felt that insufficient emphasis was put on the need for curriculum review in Chapter 4, and that a strong recommendation should be made for partner support for that process. For Chapter 5 he believed that parents should be involved in the issue of school fees and levies, and that school heads should inform parents of the amounts received for BEAM and how funds had been spent or would be spent. Concerning Chapter 6, he felt that the BEAM and Means Test processes should be localized and refined, while regarding Chapter 7, he noted that the proposed Academies of Excellence should also cater for children with disabilities. On Chapter 8, he called for promotion of a reading culture in the nation, as well as the nurturing of a spirit of inquiry and debate within the school system. Regarding examinations and ZIMSEC, he stated that it remains government’s intention to retain ZIMSEC, but acknowledged the loss of public confidence and would be looking at ways to rebuild that confidence.
He announced that the Education Transition Fund had been pledged $70 million this year: 30 million for textbooks, plus $20 million for BEAM and another $30 million in the pipeline. However, he was concerned that education is not government’s top priority, whereas in the 1980’s education had been allocated 22% of the national budget. He undertook to continue his efforts to rebuild and improve our education sector, to make it once more the finest in Africa.
The Conference ended with participants requesting more copies of the Report to take to their respective areas, and calls for more research and debate following on from the Rapid Assessment.