‘Dokora causing discord among teachers’

Daily News

23rd June 2014

Education stakeholders say the raft of changes being introduced in the sector by Lazarus Dokora, minister of Primary and Secondary Education will cause disharmony and anxiety among teachers.

Since taking over last year, Dokora has announced several changes to the education sector including banning teachers from complementing their low wages through offering holiday lessons.

Dokora has also withdrawn incentives for teachers that were introduced by his predecessor David Coltart in order to retain teaching staff.

Other changes that are reportedly being mooted by Dokora include scrapping of teachers’ salaries for three months they will be on holiday — April, August and December.
It has also been reported that Dokora wants cameras installed in classrooms in order to monitor teachers.

The Education minister also wants sporting activities banned during the week.

Stakeholders who spoke to the Daily News dismissed Dokora as an overzealous minister who wants to steal the limelight at the expense of everybody else including the learners.

Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said Dokora is moving too fast.

“The problem with the minister is that he is going too fast but if he thinks he can become a hero by overturning all that we have achieved in the country in the last three decades then it is a tragedy,” Majongwe said.

Some of Dokora’s changes have also drawn the ire of parents, particularly the banning of extra lessons.

Professor Fred Zindi, an education psychologist with the University of Zimbabwe’s faculty of education said while the decision to ban extra lessons was necessary to discourage laziness among educators, it would not be proper to scrap incentives when teachers’ conditions of work have not improved.

“When Coltart encouraged incentives it was out of realisation that the teachers were not properly remunerated, so alternatively, the government should look at ways of improving their lot first,” said Zindi.

Zindi said it was unwise for government to scrap holiday salaries for teachers as they would still need to pay rent and other necessities.

He suggested that if government felt that teachers were being paid for nothing during holidays they should do away with holidays and let the children learn all year round.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said incentives create inequality among teachers when they are supposed to be a homogeneous group in terms of income.

“We have since said that the issue of incentives is unsustainable because it divides the teachers and that leads to disharmony in the profession,” Ndlovu said.

Jemius Muguwe, the deputy director for infancy education and learners’ welfare in the ministry of Primary and Secondary Education admitted that there were divergent views between stakeholders and government over how to transform the education sector.

Speaking at a meeting of the ministry of State for Liaising on Psychomotor Activities in Education and members of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry (CZI) in Harare last week, Muguwe, said the aspirations of most parents of school going children was at variance with those of his ministry.

Muguwe said while for example, government was of the opinion that children should not be sent out of school for non-payment of fees since it infringes on their right to education, parents often chose to fight government in courts when they are followed up by debt collectors.

He said children needed to be taught practical work so that by the time they leave school they will be employable.

Muguwe added, “Even when we try to teach children through say practical subjects, some choose to interpret it as child labour at schools and that does not help anyone.”