SW Radio Africa
By Alex Bell
25 November 2009
The Education Ministry has announced it does not have the extra money to pay special incentives to exam invigilators, as the 2009 exam period is set to get underway a month late, on Thursday.
The announcement was made by Education Minister David Coltart on Tuesday in Harare, where he urged teachers to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure the exam period runs smoothly. Teachers’ unions earlier this month said their members wanted compensation for the 14 ‘extra days’ they will be working, given exams will still be written after schools officially close on December 4. The public exams begin on Thursday and the final paper will be written on December 18.
Public examinations were originally scheduled for last month, but were postponed mainly due to a strike by workers at the exams council, ZIMSEC, who were demanding salary increases from US$115 to US$400. The strike was later called off after a meeting of ZIMSEC management and workers in which they were promised salary increases up to US$270 per month. The exams were finally rescheduled to start this week, more than a month late.
The Reserve Bank last year paid invigilators allowances as ‘incentives’ for them to supervise the writing of examinations, and this trend was widely believed to continue this year. Last week, the teachers wrote to the Education Ministry threatening to boycott invigilating examinations if no allowances were paid.
Minister Coltart explained to SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that such incentives cannot be paid by the Ministry, saying sacrifices ‘for the sake of the children’ will need to be made. He acknowledged that “this is not going to be a perfectly run process,†lamenting the already badly damaged public confidence in ZIMSEC and the education sector.
“We have been trying to restore confidence in ZIMSEC and our Ministry but that has been difficult with the numerous issues ZIMSEC has raised,†Coltart said.
He explained that only one teachers’ union, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), has so far agreed to ensure that invigilators are available through the exam period.
“I am quite hopeful that the other unions will follows suit, but I am waiting with baited breath,†Coltart said.