TEACHERS UNDERGOING IN-SERVICE TRAINING
THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary, Tumisang Thabela, says teachers are undergoing in-service training to embrace digital learning as one of the key tools of making them transformational practitioners.
Speaking at a high-level policy dialogue on basic education financing in Zimbabwe, Thabela said the Ministry strives to ensure that there is access to quality, inclusive, relevant and equitable education for all children in Zimbabwe.
“We fully subscribe to the view that education is a fundamental tool for the sustainable development of our nation and so strive to provide an education product that will enable our clients to reach their optimal developmental potential.
“The country currently has an estimated population of 6 694 618 children aged three to 18 years, and they represent the demand for educational services from our sector,” Thabela said.
She said the education sector is failing to provide adequate institutions to carry out its mandate.
“The estimated demand for schools is 13 100 in order to adequately service the above population. Our last census of 2021 recorded 10 147 schools, which gives us a deficit of close to 3 000 schools.
“Supply is therefore less than demand and calls for a deliberate investment in education infrastructure provision, especially in light of a growing population and emerging settlements across the country,” she said.
She said this deficit has seen a rise in satellite schools.
“There are currently about 1 963 (with 1 087 primary and 876 secondary) satellite schools. These satellite schools need substantial investment in infrastructure development in order to be upgraded and meet minimum functionality standards for registration as stand-alone entities.”
Thabela said Zimbabwe is ready to partner with various education actors and stakeholders to assist the education sector.
“We start off by calling upon us all here to plough back to the schools that gave us our very foundational literacies and join the education sector to invest in the future of this great nation.
“Collectively, we can leapfrog the development of education as we invest in transforming the way those old schools of ours do their education business going forward.
“This is indeed the era of transforming education and it begins with all of us accepting that early learning is the most critical step in the educational journey and so is investing heavily in it,” said Thabela.