Government lied to access donor funding — Majongwe

Newsday

18th June 2014

PROGRESSIVE Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe has accused government of “lying” to the international community that it had incorporated civic education and counselling into the education curriculum in order to appear democratic and access international funding.

Addressing guests at a public meeting running under the theme Whither Our Education System? held in Harare last Thursday, Majongwe said in 2008 government officials told guests at the 48th session of the International Conference on Education in Switzerland that the new subjects had been incorporated into the education curriculum to promote democracy.

“The Zimbabwe government report which was presented during the 48th session of the International Conference on Education in Geneva was nothing, but a lie,” Majongwe said.

“Some of the false information they told the international community in their report was that they had introduced two new subjects at schools, civic education and guidance and counselling.”

Majongwe claimed the whole point in misleading the international community was to give the impression that the country was taking a democratic route in order to receive foreign funding.

“Other claims by the government in that report were that they were going to broaden the curriculum in order to strengthen the teaching of science and maths subjects, as well as construct science laboratories – which they said was already taking place. They also claimed they were going to have holiday camps for girls to be taught maths and sciences during holidays so that they bridged the gender disparity in sciences,” he said.

He said all these were not being implemented, but instead policies to further frustrate teachers were being pronounced.

Contacted for comment over the weekend, Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora professed ignorance over the matter.

“On the issue of introduction of civic education, I do not think it was the Primary and Secondary ministry then which presented that report,” he said.

However, his predecessor David Coltart said although the report was presented when he was not yet in government, he had personally pushed for the subjects to be introduced, but his efforts were shot down by fellow Cabinet ministers in the inclusive government.

“Introduction of civic education was part of my plans for curriculum reform, but the process was political and what I was trying to do ended before we had started the reforms because Zanu PF was worried about civic education and the teaching of human rights. If one reads the Education Act, you will also find that the minister is not given any power to reform the curriculum. That power is given to the permanent secretary,” Coltart said.