Herald
10 September 2010
By Tsungirirai Dhambuza
Government still requires the services of the 25 000 temporary teachers whose contracts it had reportedly terminated but will not employ any more temporary teachers.
The State yesterday directed that the 25 000 temporary teachers should return to work with immediate effect as the country was facing a critical shortage of qualified educators.
In an interview yesterday, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said Cabinet agreed that temporary teachers be retained. “My message to temporary teachers is that they should report for duty immediately and Government’s intention is to renew their contracts. We discussed the issue in Cabinet and it was agreed that these temporary teachers will be retained,” he said.
It was reported on Wednesday that district and provincial education directors countrywide informed temporary teachers to wait until the Public Service Commission clarified their status as Treasury had issued a directive to terminate their service since it had no money.
However, Minister Coltart clarified yesterday that Government only froze recruitment of more temporary teachers, adding that those with running contracts would remain in the employ of the civil service.
“Government resolved that we could not afford to allow the civil servants to expand because we do not have money to pay them. Treasury did not want an increase of teachers and we are preventing the increase,” he said.
Minister Coltart said the reports of termination of temporary teachers’ contracts came as a surprise as their service was urgently needed with the November public examinations nearing.
“I wasn’t aware that this will happen. It was a shocking development and I thought the third term was going to start smoothly as we are ready for examinations and that’s why we have dealt with the crisis quickly. We cannot afford these candidates to fail,” Minister Coltart said.
Temporary teachers constitute about 30 percent of schoolteachers countrywide and firing them would have worsened the situation as qualified educators disillusioned by Government’s failure to raise salaries are reportedly joining private schools and other sectors of the economy while a good number found jobs in Sadc countries at the height of the economic difficulties.
The situation is deplorable in rural areas where some schools are entirely run by temporary teachers.
Zimbabwe needs about 120 000 teachers for schools to operate at full capacity and the decision to terminate contracts for 25 000 teachers would have paralysed teaching in rural areas.
Minister Coltart said progress on the ministry’s strategic plan document had been made, adding it sought to address five key areas.
*restoration of the professional status of teachers
*reestablishment of conducive learning conditions
*improving the quality of education
* reinvigorating school systems and governance
*focusing on resource mobilisation for those schools and children with greatest need