Sunday Mail
Editorial
10th January 2010
ON Tuesday, “it’s back to school†and after the chaos that has characterised the opening of schools in previous years, will all the parties concerned please ensure that this first school term in 2010 will be an enjoyable one for our innocent children.
Already we have heard very disturbing statements from the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, who last week told teacher representatives that “the best person to answer their questions (about salaries) would be the Finance Minister as he is the one who presented the budgetâ€.
He went on to add that “I do not know what they would be getting as I am not the one who pays themâ€.
Since he took over as minister, Mr Coltart has been trying to improve the welfare of teachers, but his latest stance on salaries is misinformed. He is the minister responsible for the welfare of teachers and so he should get the answers from the Minister of Finance on behalf of the teachers.
Fortunately, the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association and the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe have decided to ignore Mr Coltart’s attitude and are calling on all teachers to report for duty on Tuesday.
The two organisations have said they will only map the way forward after their meeting with Government, which is set for Tuesday.
It, however, boggles the mind why such an important meeting is scheduled for the very day that schools will be opening. Why not last week or some other day to give room for proper discussions?
Now teachers will report for duty on Tuesday not knowing what salaries they will be getting. This is poor planning on behalf of Minister Coltart and Minister Biti.
These two ministers should be held responsible if there are any disturbances to the schooling calendar this first term.
The PTUZ is already demanding a salary of nothing less than US$500 for teachers and is threatening to go on strike if that demand is not met. While we don’t agree with the confrontational approach by the union, we think the Government would have been in a better position to deal with contentious issues if the discussions were held during the school holidays.
Minister Coltart also made a statement that the payment of teacher incentives by parents will continue until Government is able to offer teachers viable salaries.
One gets the feeling that Government is now sitting on its laurels as parents bear the burden of paying the teachers. This is unfair because the parents are already overburdened.
To make matters worse, the payment of incentives to teachers by parents has seen the birth of stinking corruption in some schools. Also it is important to note that it is only the teachers in urban areas who are benefiting from this facility as parents in rural areas can’t afford to pay the incentives. What happens to teachers at schools in the rural and mining areas?
Of course, parents will pay the incentives so that teachers report for duty, but it is high time that Government came out with a sustainable solution to teachers’ salaries.
The inclusive Government has been praised in many quarters and this year school children should see the benefits of this Government through uninterrupted classes.
It was worrying to hear that last year’s Grade 7 results that were supposed to be released at the end of November or at the beginning of December, were only released last Friday.
Even more worrying are reports that the marking of Ordinary and Advanced level examinations only started last Monday. Reports say the marking will end on February 13 and results are expected to be released early March.
While the delays in the marking are understandable due to the numerous problems that Zimsec faced in 2009, the hope among many parents is that the education system will improve in 2010.
Just last week, there were reports that vendors had invaded the Harare city centre as some parents tried to raise school fees for their children. This is just how parents value the education of their children and we hope all the parties concerned are taking note.
Just yesterday, there were reports that some shops in Harare had raised prices of school uniforms and other school items claiming that manufacturers had hiked their prices.
The manufacturers denied this and we hope the retailers realise that most parents are finding it difficult to make ends meet.
As for the schools, we hope that the payment of incentives to teachers by parents will not be used as a window to enrich the headmasters and heads of the School Development Associations.
The Tuesday meeting between Government and the teacher representatives should be held with the school children in mind.
These school children are the future of this country and they deserve descent education. After all, it is their right!