ZimEye.org
By John Chimunhu
October 11, 2009
â€Education Minister David Coltart’s tough line against Zanu PF militants who had set up bases in schools appears to have worked†a teachers union has said.
The Progressive Teachers Union (PTUZ), which had raised complaints about the disruptive presence of the militias in many of the country’s schools says many of them have now fled after Coltart ordered them out.
“On a scale of one to hundred, I’d say that 95 percent of the schools are now peaceful,†Raymond Majongwe, the secretary-general of the PTUZ told ZimEye. “We still have one or two cases of harassment and intimidation but I’d say the situation has improved.â€
Coltart breathed fire in August in a memorandum to the country’s 7 000 government schools stating that any militia-men and women who did not leave the schools by the time they re-opened in September would face the full wrath of the law. He also threatened to bring in new regulations banning political activities on school premises.
Majongwe said the only recent incidences that had been reported involved teachers who were driven out of a school in a village during the recent failed strike.
The disappearance of the murderous militias, who are usually backed up by members of the army and security services to terrorise teachers is seen as a major step forward in restoring sanity to schools. The militias have, during recent election periods robbed and raped teachers, besides forcing them to abandon their teaching duties to participate in Zanu PF meetings.
The militias had been deployed by Zanu PF to intimidate teachers, who are generally seen as being supportive of the Movement for Democratic Change. The militants also had orders to disrupt constitutional hearings expected to start across the country soon.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)