SW Radio Africa
By Lance Guma
28 September 2011
Education Minister Senator David Coltart has told SW Radio Africa that the controversial system of teacher’s incentives was a ‘necessary evil’ needed to stabilize the education sector. Coltart says when he took over in 2009, teachers were paid a pittance and there was total chaos in the sector.
Under the scheme parents pay a levy to the School Development Association (SDA) which in turn uses some of the money to pay teachers a supplementary income on top of their normal salaries.
The scheme has been criticised for only benefiting some 15 percent of teachers, mainly in the urban centres, while the other 85 percent predominantly in the rural areas, did not benefit from the incentives.
Coltart disputed the figure of 15 percent saying there was no empirical survey or evidence to back this but conceded the majority of teachers were not benefiting and the system was not sustainable in the long term. The Ministry and the teachers unions have this week agreed to keep the incentives in place until an all stakeholders workshop is held next month to try to find a lasting solution.
What has made the problem even more complex, according to the minister, is that there is no consensus between the teachers unions on the issue. The Progressive Teachers’ Union feel the incentives have caused confusion and divided teachers. The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association and the Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe want teachers in rural areas to be given rural allowances.
Coltart meanwhile told SW Radio Africa that the proposal for teachers to get a ‘rural allowance’ was a ‘good short term measure’ but that ultimately, adequate salaries for teachers would be the ideal solution. Unfortunately the government is ‘someway off’ being able to pay salaries that can be considered adequate, he said.