Chronicle
8 July 2010
By Makhosi Sibanda
The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart has called for compulsory and free primary education in the new constitution.
Minister Coltart told Chronicle in a telephone interview that education was a basic human right and children needed to be afforded that right through the constitution.
“Free education for all children should be made a constitutional right in line with the international convention of children’s rights,” he said.
Minister Coltart said whilst most educational issues were not included in the constitution, but were contained in international convention of children’s rights, which Zimbabwe was signatory to.
“It states that every child should be compulsory and free education and as a ministry, we feel that should be enshrined in the constitution that we are working on,” he said.
Minister Coltart said the government should make a commitment to this guarantee though its reality was threatened by lack of resources.
“Constitutional rights apply equally to children and adults and we are saying that children should also be granted freedom of expression, access to information and other rights just like adults,” said Minister Coltart.
Minister Coltart said there was a need to balance these constitutional rights as they could prove detrimental to the very beneficiaries.
“We need to ensure that our children are not exposed to pornographic material, but should be afforded a conducive learning environment to enhance their academic growth,” he said.