Mugabe reveals new syllabus

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe says Zimbabwe will now concentrate on a new syllabus which he says will prepare school leavers for employment.

Speaking to thousands who gathered in Harare to celebrate the country’s 37th anniversary of independence on Tuesday, Mugabe, 93, spoke mainly about improving education standards.

Steady on his feet and sporting his new shaved head style, he told the crowd: “We continue to do everything possible to ensure that your education remains.

“At the beginning of 2017, we introduced an updated competence and skills driven curriculum that should provide every learner with an opportunity to develop their potential... to ensure that the updated curriculum supports and sustains the transition from school to the world of work through serious study of a wide variety of subjects that include the sciences, technology and mathematics.”

But in the deepening economic crisis and with a chronic shortage of cash, tens of thousands of children could not start school or continue their education in January because many parents could not afford to pay fees.

Renowned Zimbabwe education expert Mary Ndlovu said Mugabe was misinformed about its state of education. She said education had been in crisis for years. – Foreign Service