School Fees, Levies – Ensure Parents Get Value for Money

The Herald 7 May 2012 Pricing education, through fees and levies, can be very tricky, as parents and the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, which must approve any changes, will agree. Pumping more money into education does produce better education, although the law of diminishing returns does apply. So doubling a fee rarely

Missing human rights activist feared dead

The Standard By Bridgette Bugalo and Nqaba Matshazi 6 May 2012 Missing human rights activist Paul Chizuze is feared dead and Bulawayo police have since handed the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department. Chizuze has not been seen for almost three months and the latest development adds a new twist to the mystery of his

Minister Defends School Fees Hikes

Financial Gazette 4 May 2012 Education, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister, David Coltart, has defended the latest school fees increases at private institutions saying there are far below what is being charged by other institutions in the southern African region. Responding to a question posed on his official website by a parent who had asked

Books Tender – Coltart Hits Back

Financial Gazette By Tinashe Madava 4 May 2012 The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, has lashed out at the members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, accusing them of incompetence. This follows the tabling in Parliament of a report on the committee’s investigations into the primary and

Poverty Decimating Education

Financial Gazette By Tabitha Mutnega 27 April 2012 That Zimbabwe’s rural communities have annual school dropouts of over 300 000 children, a primary school pass rate of 28,9 percent as of last year and a secondary school completion rate of 40 percent is shocking to say the least. In fact, it brings to question the

Virginity Testing in School: Zimbabwean schoolgirls tested without consent

The Daily Activist 23 April 2012 Reports of virginity testing performed on young Zimbabwean schoolgirls have been met with criticism from women’s and children’s rights groups who are decrying the practice as a violation of dignity and respect. The tests were carried out on Grade 7 girls at Tsetse primary school without parental consent; parents

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-04-22

Interesting afternoon at a school in Mitchell's Plain, Cape Town – much has changed for the better since I was last in Crossroads in 1982 #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-04-15

Come on Louis – Africa is behind you to get the Masters # Oosthuizen's putt lips out for eagle on the 13th – great shot – Africa rooting for you! Gets birdie and a 2 shot lead. Calmness personified! # This Masters is just too tight to call but Oosthuizen is still doing Africa proud

Who benefits from denouncing UNICEF text books under Education Transition Fund?

Sokwanele 14 April 2012 Imagine if the donor community had not joined hands and mobilised textbooks to the country’s primary and secondary schools, where would education be now? The voices that denounced Coltart are the very same people who brought our schools to a standstill in 2008. Once again these same people are deflecting blame,

Grim life for resettled kids

The Zimbabwean By Fungi Kwaramba 11 April 2012 Perched on bricks under umbrella-shaped savanna trees children at Estridge satellite primary school 15 km from Chinhoyi children try to learn. When it rains some do not turn up. For most the school is far away from their resettled homes. Winter normally sees a massive drop in