Education in The Republic of Zimbabwe

Educational oversight
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Ministry of Tertiary and Higher Education	Lazarus Dokora Jonathan Moyo
National education budget (2013)
Budget	$750 million (public, all levels)[1]
General details
Primary languages	Shona, Ndebele English
System type	State, private
Established Initiated	17 October 1979 4 May 1980
Literacy (2011)
Total	83.6%[2]
Male	87.8%[2]
Female	80.1%[2]
Enrollment (2015)
Total	n/a
Primary	93.9% [3]
Secondary	47.2% [3]
Post secondary	5.8% [3]

Education in Zimbabwe is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for primary and secondary education and the Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development for higher education. Both are regulated by the Cabinet of Zimbabwe.^[4] The education system in Zimbabwe encompasses 13 years of primary and secondary school running from January to December. The school year is a total of 40 weeks with three terms and a month break in-between each term.^[5]

In 1980, education was declared a basic human right by Robert Mugabe, the leader of the ZANU party that changed the constitution to recognize primary and secondary public education as free and compulsory.^[6] One of Zimbabwe's Millennium Development Goals was to achieve universal education for all students; however, the goal was not achieved as of 2015. The country is currently workings towards the Sustainable Development Goal of providing universal and free education to all students by 2030.

History

Colonial government to 1980

British settlers arrived in the 1890s to southern Rhodesia, the area now known as Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia.^[7] They created Christian missionary schools to serve local communities. The colonial government of Rhodesia provided an education for the indigenous population that was focused on agricultural production and industrial development including carpentry, building and agriculture.^[8] Researchers claim that in order to control the locals, the colonial government limited education and censored knowledge in schools.^[7] Limits in access to a quality education kept Africans in positions of labor and subordinate to white colonists in order to advance European political and economic gains.^[4] The Eurocentric education system was a structural institution that reinforced the superiority of white settlers even though they were the minority. For example, missionary schools perpetuated social and economic repression of the indigenous population by reducing their chances of earning well-paying jobs or positions of power through offering limited education and foundational skills for labor exploitation and external servitude.^[9]

Europeans were disproportionately offered more educational resources than the majority black population because the colonial government controlled access to quality schools based on race and socioeconomic status.^[10] Segregation of funding and quality of education were most extreme in the 1970s because during that decade Europeans represented one percent of Zimbabwe's population, but were allocated 99 percent of government spending on education.^[11] There was also unequal access to enrolling in education for blacks.^[11] In the 1970s, only 43.5 percent of black children attended school and only 3.9 percent of these children were enrolled in secondary school.^[12]

In 1979, a new Zimbabwe-Rhodesia government called for education reforms by creating a three-tier school system.^[13] The Education Act of 1979 regulated access to each type of school through a zoning system based on residence.^[10] Before the act, Zimbabwe's education system was divided between African and European schools. After the shift in policy, the education system split into government schools, community schools and private schools and split government schools into Group A, B and C. White students historically attended Group A schools that offered highly trained teachers and resources.^[10] These schools were located in white suburbs that denied housing opportunities for blacks, a contribution factor in education disadvantages in segregated schools.^[10] Group B, requiring a low-fee payment in suburban areas, and C schools, which do not require a fee beyond educational materials, were only available for African students.^[10] These schools had less resources, funding and qualified faculty compared to Group A schools.^[10]

National education reform in 1980

In 1980, ZANU party, Zimbabwe African National Union took power over the white, colonial government through the national election.^[14] ZANU democratized education by promising free and compulsory primary and secondary education to all children in Zimbabwe because the government recognized education as a basic human right.^[15] All primary school tuition fees were abolished after independency.^[15] Dr. Dzingai Mutumbuka was elected the Minister of Education to support Zimbabwe through education reform and to keep students in school. The government allocated 17.3 percent of the total national budget towards education which was considered an "education miracle." ^[15] The climate of the education system changed by focusing on fostering self-sufficient students that are productive, motivated and dedicated citizens.^[16] Zimbabwe's education system reform was to ensure equal access to education by providing primary and secondary education to all children.^[16]

1980s and 1990s

Since independence, the government has focused on equal and free education for all, the demand and supply of education increased.^[15] Within one year, the education system nearly doubled the number of students it served from 885,801 students to 1,310,315 student in primary and secondary education.^[15] In 1979, there were 2,401 primary schools in the country; however, in 1991 the number of primary schools nearly doubled to 4,549.^[17]

Teachers were in high demand following Zimbabwe's independency. In the mid 1980s, thousands of refugee children from Mozambique migrated to Zimbabwe, causing an increase in the number of children attending public schools and need for teachers.^[18] The Minister of Education brought in teachers from Australia, Britain and Canada for a short period of time to fill the teaching gaps.^[18] Schools expanded their human resources to serve as many children as possible with limited infrastructure by practicing "hot-seating" which means the school offers class in the morning to half of the school and in the afternoon to the other half, also known as double session schooling.^[18] "Hot-seating" was still not enough to meet the demands of the school system; therefore, the Ministry of Education expanded teacher education colleges rapidly by providing "on-the-spot" teacher training.^[18] In 1986, 8,000 additional teachers were trained to meet the demands of the school system.^[15]

Communities also rapidly built more infrastructure for education. For example, from 1979 to 1984, the number of primary schools in operation increased by 73.3 percent and the number of secondary schools increased by 537.8 percent.^[15] Following independence, the practice of "hot-seating," exponential increased the number of students attending school and the need for more infrastructure and teachers, alarming the government of Zimbabwe because of the overwhelming educational demands. Despite the challenges following the magnitude of students to educate, Zimbabwe claimed to achieve universal primary education by the end of the 1980s.^[18] By the 1990s, primary schooling was nearly universal and over half the population had completed a secondary education.^[19]

2000s to present

The country's education system was once the most developed on the continent, although it continues to suffer from a contemporary decline in public funding linked to hyperinflation and economic mismanagement.^[20] Economic downturn in the first decade of the 21st century was marked by a decrease in GDP by 40 percent from 2000 to 2008.^[20] Social expenditures on health and education also decreased by more than half.^[20]

By the end of 2008, most schools and hospitals were shut down due to thousands of teachers leaving the profession, the national government cutting health and educations budgets in half and an outbreak of cholera in 2008 leading to a national epidemic.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The economy regained momentum after 2009 once an inclusionary government was formed called the Government of National Unity to resolve national challenges.^[21]

Zimbabwe's focus on expanding education opportunities for the past 25 years has lead to national accomplishments including having the highest literacy rate in Africa at 91 percent among people from ages 15 to 24.^[22] As of 2014, 3,120,000 pupils were enrolled in primary and secondary education, 76 percent of these students were enrolled in primary education.^[22] Only 10 percent of pupils ages 15 to 24 have not completed primary education as of 2014.^[22]

Governance

After nearly a century of British colonial rule, the Zimbabwe African National Union took over Zimbabwe and formed an independent country in 1980. The newly formed government created free and compulsory primary and secondary education and valued education as a fundamental right.^[23] This fundamental right was clearly articulated in the Education Act of 1987 and all methods of discrimination from the Education Act of 1979 were abolished.

The Education Act of 1996 and the Disabled Persons Act of 1996 "requires that all students, regardless of race, religion, gender, creed, and disability, have access to basic or primary education (up to Grade 7). These non discrimination provisions protect the right to education in Zimbabwe.

The Education Act of 2006 established School Development Committees. These committees are overseen and established by School Parents Assembly for parents and guardians of school-going children to participate in the development of Zimbabwe's schools.^[23] According to the government's Statutory Instrument 87 of 1992, the purpose of School Development Committees is to:

• provide and assist in the operation and development of to public schools
• advance the moral, cultural, physical and intellectual welfare of pupils at the school
• promote the welfare of the school for the benefit of its present and future pupils and their parents and its teachers^[23]

School Development Committees have many functions and powers to control the quality of the school system including the recruitment and firing of teachers, preserve facilities and to borrow money and apply for grants.^[23] These committees also decentralized the education system by enabling parents to elect five other parents to lead a school. The decentralization of the schools combats the highly centralized, top-down of the government in hopes to assist the operation and development of education.^[17]

In 2013, the government created the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture to foster social cohesion, economic empowerment and educational development in primary and secondary schools.^[24] The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture was Andrew Langa until President Mugabe fired Langa in September 2015. Langa was replaced by Makhosini Hlongwan and the ministry has changed to become the Ministry of Sports and Recreation.^[25]

Currently, government primary and secondary schools are run by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education while non-government schools are run by local authorities including churches and organizations.^[26] The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education is Lazarus Dokora. The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development oversees public and private universities in Zimbabwe. The minster is Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development is Jonathan Moyo.^[26]

Education stages

A list of early, primary, secondary and tertiary schools and providers can be found at Zimbabwe's online school directory. [1]

Early education

Preschools are directed by the Early Childhood Education and Care program and offered for children from the ages of three to five.^[27] Early education is available in mostly urban areas and can be owned by the government, organizations or individuals.^[27] According to United Nations Zimbabwe, the Early Childhood Development (ECD) is expanding. 98 percent of primary schools have ECD centers for ages four to five and 60 percent of primary schools have these centers for ages three to four with trained teachers.^[28]

Primary education

Zimbabwe's education system mandates seven years of primary school, encompassing Grades 1 to 7.^[29] Urban primary schools teach in English, while in rural primary schools students learn in the native language, typically in Shona or Ndebele, then transition to English by Grade 3.^[5] Student to teacher ratios are typically from 30 to 40 students per teacher and as of 2012 was 36 students per teacher.^[4][30] The curriculum in primary schools encompasses Shona, English, Ndebele, Art, Content and Maths.^[27] Based on the Education Secretary's Policy Circular No. 12 in 1987, "the minimum expected educational outcome for all students is functional literacy and numeracy by the end of primary school."^[31]

At the end of Grade 7, students take a national examination in Mathematics, English, Shona or Ndebele and a General Paper covering Social Sciences, Environmental Science and Religious Education.^[4][32] Zimbabwe's government system requires education for all, but this examination can determine the type of secondary education students can attend based on the school's criteria.^[4] Private or missionary schools typically have performance requirements, but many rural public schools allow "mass admission" regardless of performance on the examination.^[4]

Secondary education

Secondary education is not funded by the government and students can attend private boarding school, government boarding school or day school all with an enrollment fee.^[4] Secondary education is made of two cycles, O-Level, ordinary level, for four years and A-Level, advanced level, for two years.^[4] Students take classes in Mathematics, English, Science, Shona or Ndebele, Geography, and History. The Ordinary Level Certificate Examination is taken after four years in Grade 11 and expects students to pass a minimum of five subjects including Science, English, Mathematics, History and a Practical Subject like woodwork or agriculture.^[32] This examination is ranked on a letter scale and can determine student achievement, selection for A-Level schools and employment.^[4]

Students have the option to enroll in A-Level secondary education or can attend teacher’s training, technical, agricultural, polytechnic, and nursing training colleges. If a student chooses to enroll in A-Level education, they must take the Advanced Level Certificate Examination after six years of secondary education administered by Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council.^[4]

Tertiary education

The tertiary sector of education is operated by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education which includes universities, technical, polytechnic and teacher training colleges and various vocational training centers.^[4] Tertiary education was first introduced to Zimbabwe in 1957 by the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, now known as the University of Zimbabwe. The nation's independence in 1980 increased enrollment in the University of Zimbabwe from 2,240 to 9,017 by 1990.^[33] The National Council for Higher Education was established in 1990 as a measure for quality insurance of higher education in the nation. Increasing government access to education in recent decades has increased the number of higher level institutions in the country. For example, eight more universities were established between 1999 and 2005. The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) was formed in 2006 as another measure to guarantee quality education and accreditation for university education.^[33] As of 2012, there were fifteen registered universities (nine public and five private), fifteen teachers' colleges, eight polytechnics and two industrial training colleges.^[34]

Recent factors affecting education in Zimbabwe

Access to a quality education

Despite the initiative during independence to rapidly expand education opportunities, the demand for education was still greater than the supply. Education quality, teacher shortages, infrastructural and infrastructural pressure. The current education system faces capacity challenges, including double session schooling, shared overcrowded classrooms enable more pupils to attend school, but also students are given less attention and time to learn.^[18] With the exponential growth of students in Zimbabwe, the demand for education has resorted to "hot seating," also known as double school sessions. "Hot seating" means that half of students attend school in the morning and the second half attends school in the afternoon.^[18] These measures reduce the amount of time each student is in the classroom, affecting their overall access to education and development.

Quality of education is also impacted by the lack of trained teachers in secondary schools. A majority of teaching colleges in Zimbabwe are for primary school, leaving less opportunity to meet the demand of trained secondary school teachers.^[35] Access to education is rural areas is concerning, considering the shortage of teachers due to unfavorable working conditions and low compensation. Many teachers in rural areas lack training due to the high demand for labor. Not only are teachers under compensated, but teaching materials are also are allocated less than one percent of the federal budget for education.^[35]

Funding

Zimbabwe's independence prompted an education reform in 1980 to provide free and universal education to all children through the Zimbabwe Education Act. However, tuition fees and education costs have accumulated over time.^[36] Many families pay for tuition even if it is a small fee at public government schools.^[27] Families that do not pay for tuition due to education subsidies are still required to pay additional fees including building fees, transportation costs, exam fees, uniforms and stationary for their children.^[9] Education is not completely free in Zimbabwe due to historical government expenditures on providing infrastructure for education and recent years of global economic crisis.^[9] Programs like the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) have been developed to prevent orphans and vulnerable children from dropping out of primary school due to the expenses. BEAM pays for tuition and other basic fees, but only is able to serve less than half of the targeted population.^[28]

Students with disabilities

It is estimated that over 300,000 school-aged children in Zimbabwe have a disability.^[31] In Zimbabwe, inclusionary schools involve "identification and minimization or elimination of barriers to students’ participation in traditional settings (i.e., schools, homes, communities, and workplaces) and the maximization of resources to support learning and participation."^[31] Nondiscriminatory laws, including the Education Act of 1996 and the Disabled Persons Act of 1996, does not create inclusive education for schools in Zimbabwe and does not protect disabled students from discrimination in high school.^[37]

Most schools perform "unplanned or de facto inclusion" by keeping students with disabilities in classrooms with all other students and taught the same curriculum without documentation of their specific disability.^[31] Teachers and schools are not equipped to educate and account for students with disabilities; therefore, most drop out by third grade.^[31] Schools have begun to find alternative ways of performing inclusionary education on an individual basis, but there is a lack of standardization and quality, especially for rural schools.^[31] Researcher Regis Chireshe claims inclusionary education needs legislative and policy support, more quality inclusionary education training for teachers and inclusionary education campaigns to improve the attitude in communities about people experiencing disabilities.^[37]

Gender differences

Although education is accepted as a fundamental right by the constitution, gender disparities in education still exist. Gender differences are less predominant in primary education as it is in secondary education.^[20] The United Nations Zimbabwe claims that in 2009 85 percent of females compared to 80 percent of males completed primary school.^[28] As of 2010, 48.8 percent of females achieved secondary education or higher while 62 percent of males achieved secondary education or higher.^[38] Females are increasingly more likely to drop out than their male peers in secondary school due to early marriages, cost of continuing education and gender-based violence in secondary schools.^[20] Females are considered a source of income through marriage so families are more likely to educate their sons to increase his earning potential. A lack of education for females correlates with development risks including adolescent pregnancy, HIV and AIDs, poor health and poverty.^[38] In times of economic hardship, resources for education are allocated to males more than females due to labor roles and gender expectations.^[12]

Textbooks are a method to analyzing gender relations and roles in Zimbabwe's curriculum. Gender stereotyping is prevalent in textbooks as males are used to describe scientific or technical fields, leadership positions and jobs rather than females. Active and productive roles focus on males while female roles in textbooks are passive and dependent. Researchers found that English language textbooks are written from male perspectives and leave out important female leaders and perspectives in history.^[39]

However, reports from the UN Children's Fund claim that Zimbabwe's gender gap in education is smaller than many other African countries.^[38]

Teachers

Thousands of Zimbabwean teachers have gone on strikes, joined teacher unions and left the profession in recent years over low salaries, poor working conditions, political victimization, being overworked and violence.^[40] Teacher unions including the Progressive Teacher's Union of Zimbabwe organize strikes to catalyze salary negotiations and better working conditions. In the first decade of the 21st century, 45,000 out of 100,000 teachers in the country left the profession.^[7][11]

Marked by a time period of hyperinflation, teachers were one of the lowest paid professions, receiving the equivalence of $10 US dollars for every three months of teaching to as low as one US dollar every month.^[7][41] Thousands of teachers protested, left public education and migrated to other countries in response to the economic crisis.^[14] During a year-long strike from 2008 to 2009, teachers demanded higher salaries paid in international currency. This strike led to nearly 94 percent of all rural schools closing and in less than a year school attendance rates fell from 80 percent to 20 percent.^[42]

Many teachers joined the informal economy, or black sector, during the economic crisis by participating in cross-border trading with Botswana and South Africa because civil servants were not required to have visas at the time.^[7] Teachers would use their off time during the year to hoard goods from other country and resell them in Zimbabwe to make a profit and earn a livable living that their teacher salaries did not satisfy.^[7]

In 2009, the national economy stabilized because of the actions taken by the newly established Government of National Unity (GNU). The GNU enacted the dollarization of the national economy which curved the effects of hyperinflation and the informal economy.^[11] The GNU also allocated every civil servant, including teachers, the equivalence of $100 US dollars.^[7] Teachers were encouraged to reenter the profession and move back to Zimbabwe, but thousands never returned and got better paying positions elsewhere.^[14] The dollarization of Zimbabwe's economy also reduced the amount of teacher participating in the informal economy.^[11]

Thousands of teachers are unmotivated due to low salaries, limited resources, pressure, political harassment and the shortage of teachers. Researchers Regis Chireshe and Almon Shumba cite that teachers believe their teaching preparations did not prepare them for the classroom and working with special education. They also believe that teachers will continue to threaten or actually strike in the future unless their needs are better addressed by the government.^[43]

Textbooks

In 2009, the Educational Transition Fund (ETF) was launched to improve the quality of education that dropped in recent years. This became a platform to partner with UNICEF and for donors to financially support the education sector of Zimbabwe. Accumulation and distribution of textbooks has been the focus of ETF in recent years. The National Education Advisory Board claimed that 20 percent of students did not have textbooks for core subjects and the pupil to textbook ration was 10:1 as of 2008.^[44] Thousands of books have been donated in the past few years along with additional learning materials. UNICEF currently reports that the pupil to textbook ratio is now 1:1 because of the aid from ETF.^[44]

See also

• Education in Africa
• List of Schools in Zimbabwe
• List of Universities in Zimbabwe
• Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Zimbabwe
• National Council for Higher Education, Zimbabwe
• Zimbabwe

References

External links

• Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education
• Education Statistics and Quality of Education in Zimbabwe, Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ)