New Zimbabwe.com

By Staff reporter

26 July 2010

More A’ Level students fail Shona than Maths, Physics and Economics, a report commissioned by the Ministry of Education reveals.

In 2007, only 47 percent of students passed Shona, dropping to 43 percent in 2008 compared to 77 percent and 80 percent for Physics, 58 percent and 68 percent for Economics and the pass rate for Maths which was 54 percent in 2007, and 47 percent in 2008.

The startling figures are contained in an assessment report of Zimbabwe’s primary and secondary schools produced by the National Education Advisory Board, and handed out to donors in London last week by Education Minister David Coltart.

The failure rate for Shona is even more pronounced when the statistics are compared to Ndebele, which was passed by 91 percent of A’ Level students in 2007, the figure dipping slightly to 88 percent in 2008.

The July 2009 report, written by former Education Minister Fay Chung, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Senegal Trudy Stevenson and educationist Sharayi Chakanyuka, provides no answers for the Shona failure rate – so bad only Accounting had worse statistics of 43 percent in 2007 and 32 percent in 2008.

Meanwhile in O’ Level, Integrated Science is officially the most difficult subject with only 19 percent of students passing in 2007, and 22 percent in 2008.

The report shows a steep fall in the pass rate for Maths and History between 2007 and 2008. Only 18 percent of O’ Level students passed English in 2008, down 15 percent from the 2007 pass rate of 33 percent.

The decline was worse in Maths which was passed by 48 percent of the class of 2007 but saw a sharp fall a year later to 21 percent – a difference of almost 24 percent.

The report blames an overall decline in education standards on the flight of teachers due to poor pay over the last decade and lack of government funding for schools.

“The image of the teacher was at its lowest since Independence,” the report says. “Loss of status from the pauperisation of teachers played an important part in demoralising teachers.”

Zimbabwean

By Staff Reporter

25 July 2010

HARARE – The government is in a bid to restore back the dignity of the teaching profession.
The Minister of Education Sports and Culture David Coltart said: “My first priority is to ensure that teachers are paid sufficiently so as to restore their integrity. The good thing is that we have an incredible dedicated teaching staff which, is an essential ingredient in improving the education sector.”
Coltart said over 15 000 thousand teachers who left the profession due to the economic meltdown had returned to their postings countrywide in response to the amnesty that the Ministry of Education granted them in 2009.
Thousands of teachers fled the country due to political intimidation and low salaries.
“Despite the low salaries that teachers are getting over 15 000 have returned since last year blanket amnesty for all teachers to return. This indicates that teachers are being paid sufficiently to get back into the system. But I reiterate that I understand that teachers’ salaries are inadequate and I am continuously arguing in cabinet for equality in the civil service. There are many people in the civil service who are being paid far more than teachers,” said Coltart.
Donors had come to the aid of the staff in the health sector by topping up the salaries of doctors nurses and pharmacists but nothing similar had been done for teachers, who were entrusted with the future of the nation.
“I have been advised by trade unions that soldiers are earning much more than teachers, and that is wrong.  I am not demeaning soldiers in any way I respect soldiers, for the role they play in protecting our nation but I believe it’s wrong that teachers should earn less than soldiers. We need to bring teachers’ salaries up.”
As an incentives to encourage teachers to stay at their schools, most parents hav e to folk out money from their pockets to pay them an extra amount.
“The cost of education in the country has been transferred to parents but because parents themselves are poor that has led to a large drop out at both primary and secondary schools. In some rural areas more than 75 percent of students between the age of six and sixteen have dropped out of school,” said Coltart.
However, the minister said despite the return of the teachers, there was still a shortage of teachers in critical subjects such as Mathematics, Science and English . These were in demand in the neighbouring countries where teachers were still highly esteemed and offered better salaries.

Zimbabwean

Written by Mxolisi Ncube

Sunday, 25 July 2010

LONDON – A group of United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean organisations met in London last week to chart ways in which they can assist the education sector in the country, especially the Matabeleland and Midlands regions.

The groups, led by the Zimbabwe Community Association (ZCA) and Matebeleland.com, a forum for development, education, health, investment and tourism promotion in the two regions, agreed on a programme that will help rehabilitate the education system in Zimbabwe.

The programme was agreed to at a meeting the organisations held with Minister of Education Senator David Coltart when was visiting the UK to discuss the Diaspora’s assistance for Zimbabwe.

The ZCA has already launched a fundraising campaign meant to raise school fees for some identified under-resourced schools and under-privileged children in the regions, while a position paper was submitted to Senator Coltart during his visit.

“Education in Zimbabwe has suffered because of the current multi-faceted crisis and we are losing the future of a whole generation of young people to this calamity,” Freeman Ncube, the global chairman of Matebeleland.com, who also chaired the meeting, told The Zimbabwean.

“Children in Zimbabwe, especially Matabeleland and the Midlands regions, cannot afford school and examination fees because most of their parents are unemployed and it is our duty to help them as Zimbabweans in the Diaspora.

“We therefore, appeal to all Zimbabweans and friends of Zimbabwe to join this noble cause by making contributions and coming up with suggestions on how Zimbabweans in the Diaspora can assist in the development of our country.”

The meting was attended by various individuals and charity organisation serving the two regions.

“This is not about Matabeleland and the Midlands alone and we encourage Zimbabweans from other regions to do the same for the communities that nurtured them, so that the whole country can move forward,” added Ncube.

Matebeleland.com is currently working with Compassionate Justice International (CJI), an American-based non-profit organisation under the directorship of Zimbabwean author, Bob Scott, in trying to source funds that will facilitate the shipment of text books worth thousands of dollars to Zimbabwe.

The books were sourced from American schools and libraries through Project Aspire:  Textbooks for Zimbabwe – launched by Scott’s Kansas City-based organisation and are meant to benefit under-resourced Zimbabweans schools

The two organisations will be working together in making sure that the books get distributed to the schools they are intended for and their goal is to get all the books shipped to Zimbabwe by the end of the first quarter of 2011.

Sunday News

25  July 2010

By Bhekizulu Tshuma

DAGGERS have been drawn for Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara, in the MDC formation that he leads, after eight provincial structures reportedly resolved to replace him with Professor Welshman Ncube as the leader of the party in its next congress pencilled for February next year.

National executive members of the MDC party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Sunday News that the axe is hanging over Prof Mutambara’s head with eight provinces having unanimously agreed that the party’s secretary general, Prof Ncube, replace him.
The executive members have accused Prof Mutambara of “political immaturity’’.
One of the sources in Harare province, said the party would hold its congress in February next year at a venue yet to be confirmed, and would seek to, “offload top deadwood’’.
“What we are doing as a party is offload the top deadwood,’’ said the source.
“Of the meetings that we have been making around the country, the consensus is that Prof Ncube should replace the current party president (Prof Mutambara) who we feel is not fit for that post.’’
However, party deputy secretary general, Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, refuted the reports as unfounded and misleading.
“I don’t know where that comes from because we haven’t formalised our nomination process as the national leadership.
“What I can say is that when we go to congress all the positions are open for contestation and people will elect candidates they would want to occupy the top seven positions,’’ she said.
Another source said he was convinced that after congress there would be a new presidium for the MDC formation.
Sources said some of the changes in the party are likely to see current national party spokesperson, Mr Edwin Mushoriwa, assume the vice-presidency.
Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga will take over the secretary-general’s post from Prof Ncube.
According to the proposed changes, Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga would be deputised by the current secretary for foreign affairs, Mr Moses Mzila Ndlovu.
Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr David Coltart, has been seconded for the Treasurer General’s post.
Insiders said the party’s national chairman, Mr Joubert Mudzumwe, would be replaced by the chairman for Chitugwiza, Mr Rodrick Chimbaira.
Contacted for comment, Matabeleland South provincial chairman and MP for Bulilima West, Mr Mzila-Ndlovu, sounded sceptical about the issue but, however, insisted that the party’s policy was to come up with best candidates to represent them.
“When we go to congress all positions are open to everyone regardless of which province they come from. We are saying this ideology that influential positions should be reserved for certain people from certain regions is just a myth.
“The basic factor now is that we want the sort of leadership that is going to match the quality of demands for such positions,’’ he said.
Sources in the party accuse Prof Mutambara of inconsistency and of being too “flamboyant’’ in his speeches when talking about President Mugabe.
The highly-placed source from Harare province said his province was the first to express discontent over its leader and called for Prof Ncube’s take over.
“As Harare province we were the first to see our mistake of inviting Mutambara to lead us. I’m pleased to say that as Harare province we have resolved and agreed that the current secretary-general should become the president to lead us to the next election.
“We feel Prof Mutambara is not mature as he easily gets carried away. Our main aim would be to elect a leadership that will take us to the Promised Land,’’ he said.
Insiders from Bulawayo, who are privy to the developments in the party, concurred that Prof Mutambara’s career as a politician had been short-lived after all the Matabeleland provinces have “humbly requested’’ for the recalling of not only the current president but also some of the national leaders.
One of the Bulawayo provincial leaders gave a tribal narrative to the developments. He said the MDC party has now realised that Ndebele people were capable of leading like any other tribe in the country and should not always be relegated to playing second fiddle to others in national politics.

“The final position as Matabeleland is that after congress we should be led by someone from this region. For so long we have been seconding candidates from other regions yet the party’s stronghold is here, Matabeleland.
“Who said we were born to hold positions of deputies and vices? We also deserve an opportunity to lead and hold positions of governance and power,’’ the source said.
MDC Bulawayo secretary for information and publicity was, however, reluctant to comment as he said the party was currently committed to the constitution-making programme.
“The context of leadership from everywhere in the country is a good idea. But people should understand that at the moment the party is committed to the constitution-making process and talking about who will be the party’s next president is rather too early.
“In fact, our top leaders are doing well both at party and Government levels,’’ he said.
Prof Mutambara’s arrival in the MDC in 2006 did not go down well with everyone in the party, with then Prof Ncube’s deputy, Mr Gift Chimanikire, charging that he was the best candidate for the job and claiming his colleagues had stabbed him in the back.
The MDC split irreconcilably with MDC-T led by Prime Minister, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, following disagreements over participating in senate elections in November 2005. PM Tsvangirai, favoured a boycott of the elections, but his senior colleagues disagreed leading to an acrimonious split.
Prof Mutambara shot to prominence in the late 80s when he led massive student protests against the Government.
At the time of his appointment he was the managing director of Africa Technology & Business Institute, a professional and advisory services firm operating in 13 African countries.
Prof Mutambara was also a principal consultant with MAC Consulting and Professor of Operations Management with the School of Business Leadership, UNISA.
Formerly, Prof Mutambara was a Research Scientist and Professor of Robotics and Mechatronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Carnegie Mellon University, California Institute of Technology, FAMU-FSU, and NASA, all in the United States.

The sticky tongue

thestickytongue.com

By Candace M Hansen

25 July 2010

Animal welfare groups in Zimbabwe are up in arms over the number of lions being kept in captivity across the country, especially in the wake of lion attacks this year.

The organization Veterinarians for Animal Welfare in Zimbabwe(VAWZ), has revealed after a shock survey that well over 300 lions are being held in captivity, often in poor conditions, in what is being described as the ‘ugly face’ of Zimbabwe’s animal tourism market. Meryl Harrison, an inspector for VAWZ, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that game park authorities and other independent tourism groups have been removing lion cubs from their mothers at young ages to provide “cute and cuddly” experiences for tourists.

But Harrison explained that the practice is unsafe and inhumane, as the lion cubs quickly become too large and dangerous to be around people. Harrison said lion attacks on people, which statistically occur mostly in sanctuaries and at games lodges, are a direct result of animals being kept in captivity.

“When they reach about 18 months they become unsafe,” Harrison said. “At the end of the day, even if they have been hand reared, they are wild animals that should be appreciated in the wild.”

The VAWZ survey on lion captivity came in the aftermath of two recent attacks by lions this year. In May, Education Minister David Coltart’s eight year old daughter had to be hospitalised after she was attacked by a ‘breeding’ lion. The little girl was apparently stroking the animal through the bars of its pen when it attacked her, mauling her arm.

Just weeks later, a volunteer at Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage was attacked by a lion after the pen the animal was being kept in was left open. The volunteer, a 26 year old woman from South Africa, later died in hospital as a result of her injuries.

Harrison continued that the welfare of the lions is also at risk as the animals are rarely successfully reintroduced into the wild. She explained that the animals have never been taught how to hunt, which often results in other game being maimed and left to suffer after they’ve been attacked by inexperienced juvenile lions.

VAWZ and National Parks authorities are now trying to control the situation by proposing a “code of practice.” Harrison explained that the code will help ensure that animal welfare takes precedence over tourism, by controlling the numbers of animals in captivity.

Source: SW Radio Africa

IRIN

23 July 2010

EPWORTH — Simbarashe Choga, 65, a retired teacher, is the local butcher in Epworth, some 20km northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare; he is also the principal of the primary school he runs out of his shop.

“My teachers keep their records and other materials at my butchery, which operates as our head office because, as you can see, there are no buildings here,” Choga told IRIN. “We have a total enrolment of 182 pupils from the first to the seventh grades, and the majority of them learn outside.”

Most of the houses in Epworth have no running water or electricity and the area is best known for its high levels of crime. Choga insisted that his institution had been registered by the local municipal authority, but said most of the schools offering primary and secondary education were unlicensed, and at the ministerial level even his school was not accredited.

This means that pupils at Choga’s school have to sit their grade-seven examinations for entry into high school at other institutions that have been formally licensed by the education ministry.

Choga, who employs mostly untrained teachers, complained that they had to make do with inadequate books and stationery, and urged the government to register his school, “so that people like myself, and many others in Epworth and other parts of the country, can make education accessible to the underprivileged, who are too poor and lack learning facilities.”

The United Nations Development Programme recently found that Zimbabwe had a literacy rate of 92 percent – the highest in Africa – but David Coltart, minister of education, arts, sport and culture, commented: “That hardly means anything if Zimbabwe’s education system remains in the state it is today. I am not accepting congratulations.”

The ailing education system, once a model for sub-Saharan Africa, has buckled and all but collapsed under the economic and political crises of the past decade, when widespread food shortages, hyperinflation, cholera outbreaks, and an almost year-long strike by teachers in 2008 led to a dramatic decline in the standard of learning.

It is not uncommon for 10 pupils to share a textbook, and although the government drastically slashed school fees in 2009, deepening poverty has put even the reduced cost of attending government schools in some areas beyond the reach of thousands of children.

“The proliferation of these unregistered schools is a national crisis, and we are very worried,” Coltart told IRIN. He said unauthorized schools were multiplying because limited resources meant education officials could not check on them.

Coltart said even though private schools played an important role in raising educational standards, this was not the case where the institutions were unregistered and were not monitored by officials from his ministry. The government recently announced that it had closed more than 100 unlicensed private tertiary colleges.

“Students going into their fourth form have to go elsewhere, as we are also not registered and cannot conduct Ordinary Level examinations. Fees are cheap here, and the parents enrol their children with us because they cannot be absorbed by the few secondary schools in the area,” said Sophia Sibanda, a teacher at a school near Choga’s.

“The most important thing is that these pupils know how to read and write, and get a little knowledge about geography and history,” she said. “Otherwise they would get into adulthood without being able to count.”

Zimbabwean

By ZDFG Secretariat

Friday 23 July 2010

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart (pictured) has invited Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom to be key players in the “Centre of excellence” programme and in writing “objective and non-partisan history books on Zimbabwe.”
Senator Coltart, a minister in the coalition government was speaking to the Zimbabwe Diaspora Focus Group (ZDFG); a coalition of UK based Zimbabwean organisations in London Tuesday 20th July.
Senator Coltart is visiting the UK where he will address parliamentarians, Her Majesty’s Government and potential donors on the state of the education system in Zimbabwe.
He told the ZDFG meeting that Zimbabwe was losing an entire generation due to the run down system. His ministry had started a programme where two schools in every province have been identified for deliberate development into centres of excellence.
“In Matabeleland North for example, we have chosen Binga and Fatima to be centres of excellence. We are going to put resources into these schools, identify intelligent disadvantaged children in the region and send them to these schools,” Senator Coltart said.
He went on: “The Diaspora has a role be it as part of Old school associations or as organisations to resource these schools.”
Senator Coltart asked the Diaspora community not to limit their input to the identified centres of excellence but assist any schools or educational institutions of their choice.
He pointed out that Zimbabwe’s curriculum needed to be reviewed and he would soon be announcing a board to run ZIMSEC, a body in charge of curriculum and examinations.
It has been widely argued by many Zimbabweans over the years that the history of Zimbabwe is not truly reflected by the material in use in schools.

Senator Coltart said: “Zimbabwe now needs history books that are non-partisan, non-racial and reflect the true history of the country.  “I look at the Diaspora as having knowledgeable and skilled people who can write these books and be part of the curriculum review.”
On teachers and human right issues, Senator Coltart, a former human rights lawyer in Bulawayo himself, said he wanted to see human right awareness in schools, but the challenge would be to work with the Ministry of higher education which was responsible for teachers’ colleges. He is working to ensure that no schools are used for any activity, such as bases that may be viewed as promoting abuse of human rights.
Senator Coltart admitted that the working conditions for teachers in Zimbabwe were difficult with the majority of schools in rural areas not having sanitation, proper accommodation and basic necessities.
“However, I am desperate to remedy the situation and need Zimbabwean teachers who are abroad to come home at some point and work again.”

The Senator was advised of the desperate situation and de-skilling among Zimbabwean qualified teachers who are currently “in limbo” in the UK by Sarah Harland of the Zimbabwe Association, a member organisation of the ZDFG.
In his response, Senator Coltart said: “I would like to meet Zimbabwean teachers based here in the UK to discuss issues as they may raise.”
The ZDFG chair Lucia Dube confirmed that discussions were underway to enable former teachers to meet with the Minister on the August in London.

Background on ZDFG

The ZDFG is a coalition of UK based Zimbabwean organisations formed on the 19th February 2010 at Ilford, London. It seeks to offer Zimbabweans a platform to work collaboratively and in a coordinated way, on issues that affect their stay in the UK and sharing ideas on contributing to making Zimbabwe a better place.
The Focus Group is responsible for improving the outcomes and well-being of Zimbabweans in the UK and beyond. The Coalition builds on the accountability of member organizations to those they serve, and to the community through their governance structures.
Among other things, the ZDFG was set-up to help facilitate discussions between HMG, the Zimbabwean Diaspora in the UK and the Government of Zimbabwe on policy issues. The ZDFG engages Her Majesty’s Government through quarterly meetings on issues of mutual interest. Thorough consultations are done by the ZDFG before the meetings to ensure that what is presented to HMG is reflective of the genuine voice of Zimbabweans living in the UK.

To achieve effectiveness, the ZDFG is organised according to various Portfolios. New member organisations are encouraged to identify and join the portfolio that best suits its main constitutional objectives.
Seminars and consultative conferences, and action plans are organised according to portfolios as follows:

1.   Organisations for those in the UK  -               Lead – ZDDI (Alex Magaisa)
2.       Charities for benefit of those in Zim           Lead – ZCA (Lucia Dube)
3.       Youth -                                                       Lead – Positive Youth (Shirley Michaels)
4.       Women -                                                    Lead – Zimbabwe Women Network (Silva Hove)
5.       Business Community -                               Lead – ZG Club (Kevin Pawadyira)
6.       Human Rights -                                          Lead – MAGGEMM (Mpho Ncube)
7.       Faith and Religious Groups -                     Lead – CZCLUK (Qobo Mayisa)
8.       Arts & Culture -                                          Lead – Ngonyama (Million Songanga Moyo)
9.       Immigration & Asylum -                             Lead – Zimbabwe Association (Patson Muzuwa)
10.   Think Tanks, Researchers & Academics – Lead – Beacon Mbiba/Esinath Ndiweni
11.   Media -                                                       Lead – AZJ in UK (Clayton Peel)

Zimbabwean