ZimEye
By Moses Muchemwa
13 February 2012
The British and Finnish governments have pledged to assist Zimbabwe raise $87 million to fund the retraining of all teachers in a bid to resuscitate the education system.
According to Education, Sport, Art and Culture Minister David Coltart(pictured), talks are underway with western governments willing to assist to revive the once prosperous education system.
With the collapse of the economy a decade ago, the education sector also suffered the consequences of maladministration by President Robert Mugabe’s regime.
The cash-strapped government announced last year that there was need for retraining of teachers to keep abreast with the global education trends but lack of funding scuttled the programme.
However, Coltart said the British and Finish governments had not announced figures of how they will assist the faltering education sector.
Last year, Coltart visited Britain on an official visit to solicit funding to finance various education programmes. “We have a detailed retraining programme for teachers, which is likely to start in the second term,†he said.
He added that the retraining programme was not only meant for unqualified teachers but also those with diplomas and degrees to upgrade their skills. Hundreds of unqualified teachers are deployed in remote schools such as Binga and Gokwe districts, among others.
Zimbabwe has experienced a massive exodus of teachers to Britain, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia in search of greener pastures. The education sector has over 110 000 teachers.