Herald
29 September 2010
By Stephen Mpofu
THE poor in this country probably wonder if the law is such an ass that it bays at them in laughter while they wrestle with challenges that appear intractable.
Gap-mouthed parents ask why for instance, the “law” dozes off while their children are shut out of school for non-payment of fees or punished for delays in paying incentive money for teachers, particularly in rural areas when the “law” ought to know that efforts by villagers to raise both requisite amounts are like attempts to climb Mount Inyangani while blind-folded, hence some pupils there attend school in glorious rags, literally.
Why indeed, ask the less-monied and even the more affluent does the “law” remain ensconced on the fence as children in some schools suffer the brunt of demoralised teachers after money meant as an incentive to bolster their spirits lands in porous hands of some heads who will brook no questioning by subordinates.
All this happens under the very noses of school development associations and of education ministry authorities, the former clearly bereft of any doubt to carpet recalcitrant school heads even though SDAs remain much closer to schools than ministry authorities.
Those misdemeanors apparently rule the roost because there is no law in the statute books to police the schools, as bemoaned recently by Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart.
And this sad scenario in spite of assurance from lofty places in New York City, and repeated here at home, that education is every child’s “inalienable right”.
Now add to the above demand by some mission schools for parents to put down as much as US$800 to secure a high school place for a child with the amount not refundable in the event of the applicant not taking up the place.
The schools in point are obviously driven by Zimdollar syndrome of millions, billions, trillions and quadrillions — the hundreds and thousands having become chicken-feed during that era as bakers who have raised the price of bread and other, breadline products knowing, as they certainly do, that their unilateralism will go unpunished in the absence of any law compelling them to consult with relevant authorities overseeing their industry and agreeing a price increase that does not nip the country’s fledgling economic recovery in the bud.
In the wake of the foregoing, less-advantaged parents must surely be wondering whether they can only access the right to education for their child by paying money.
It is no doubt in light of the prevailing contradictions in our schools that Minister Coltart called for the need for a “law to curb any acts of mal-administration in schools”.
Some people might ask why as Minister of Education, he does not go right ahead and introduce the necessary legislation as he sees fit.
Well, their concerns may be legitimate but they and other stakeholders have a role to play by inputting into the making of a new law in the same way as their input matters a great deal in any policy making process, so that any potential loopholes in the formulation of the law are sealed to prevent possible exploitation by unscrupulous characters.
Contextually, therefore, Minister Coltart set an agenda for people to motivate discussion on the subject, reach their own unanimous conclusion about the kind of law they want to see in place and then send their inputs to the ministry.
Zimbabwe’s education system enjoys a reputation envied by other countries in Africa, and probably even overseas.
Thus, a strong case exists to protect it against those acts that might taint it resulting in people describing the country’s education as “high-quality but . . . ”
The author is a former Editor of the Chronicle.