Zimbabwe Community Radio http://www.zicora.com/
22 June 2011
Education, arts, sport and culture minister David Coltart says his ministry will tighten monitoring measures on the textbooks that were distributed to all primary schools.
Speaking to Zimbabwe Community Radio, Coltart said his ministry has received a number of reports that some schools are illegally selling the textbooks.
“These books are government property, we made it very clear that these textbook are not for resale, if parents would read what is printed on them, it is specified they are not to be sold,†he said. “If there is any attempts to sell those, that will be a criminal offenceâ€
He added that there is a law of theft which ensures that such government property is not tempered with as this is a gift from UNICEF.
“There is no market for those who sell the books because every child now has their own textbook, so where are they going to be sold.â€
The minister encouraged parents to refuse to buy text books and said schools received text books in English, Mathematics, Environmental Science and indigenous language and there is no need for parents to be buying textbooks.He however encouraged parents to buy text books which were not covered by the program.
Last year the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund UNICEF unveiled a US$70 million programme aimed at providing a text book for every child in the country’s 5,300 primary schools within 12 months. It is being funded by Australia, New Zealand and European nations.