Voice of America
By Gibbs Dube
16 November 2012
Education Minister David Coltart says the Education Transition Fund has a budget of $9 million from international donors for the writing of language readers, including those in minority indigenous languages, for schools as the nation inches closer towards introducing various languages from Grade One to Grade 7.
In a Facebook message, Coltart said the money will be administered under the Education Transition Fund, launched soon after the inception of the unity government in 2009 to revive the education sector.
He said indications are that there are few readers or texbooks written in minority languages for use in primary schools.
According to Coltart, there are also few texbooks even in languages like shona and sindebele, a situation not conducive for Curriculum Development in Zimbabwe.
He said writers should contact his ministry in finding ways of ensuring that readers written in any Zimbabwean language can be published.
Difa Dube of the Kalanga Language Development Committee said this move is a
step in the right direction.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) is yet to assign dates for marking Grade 7 exams as the early December results deadline fast approaches.
Teachers expected to mark exams taken at the end of October say they haven’t  been called by ZIMSEC officials to start the marking period.
Grade 7 results are expected to be made public between the first and second weeks of December to allow parents and students time to seek schools for Form One placement.
ZIMSEC faced criticism following a number of problems ranging from disputes between the teachers, parents and pupils.
The exam body hasn’t indicated a reason for current the delay.
Secretary general Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe confirmed the reports to Studio 7 saying teachers in his organization are in the dark about the way forward.