Standard
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 20 March 2011
By Jennifer Dube
GOVERMENT will soon roll out a programme to restock secondary schools with textbooks after a similar initiative saw 13 million books being given to primary schools last year.
Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart said funding had already been obtained for the programme to make sure that students did not share textbooks.
The Education Transition Fund (ETF) delivered 13 million text books to 5 575 schools around the country and Coltart said the pupil/textbook ration was now 1:1.
Unicef and other donors bankrolled ETF.
“We want to have 1:1 ratios for all textbooks at secondary schools as well so that we can restore excellence in our education sector,†he said.
Coltart was speaking at an event to commission the electrification of classroom blocks at Westlea Primary School.
The government and the international donor community, led by Unicef last year supplied textbooks to over 5 575 schools under the first phase of the ETF, a multi-donor funding mechanism designed to mobilise resources for the education sector.
Most schools were operating on a 10:1 pupils to textbook ratio.
The electrification of Westlea Primary was part of various projects being
initiated by Harare West constituency MP Jessie Majome under the
Constituency Development Fund.