Govt insincerity fuelling crisis in education sector

THE Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition implores government to urgently address the plight of teachers and stem the continued rot in the country’s education sector.

We note with concern that over the years, government has shown insincerity in addressing the plight of teachers and ultimately, education standards continue to fall as teachers engage in endless job actions.

It is saddening to note that pupils have been at the receiving end of government’s insincerity towards improving the welfare of teachers.

On Monday February 7, 2022, scores of students around the country were turned away from school after teachers embarked on job action demanding a living wage.

This was after the Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Union declared incapacitation.

It is disturbing to note that despite promises of better salaries from the government, teachers continue to leave far below the poverty datum line (PDL) and have been reduced to beggars despite their invaluable contribution to the development of the country.

To make matters worse, the government continues to respond with brute force to genuine calls for better salaries by teacher unions and this has resulted in a series of arrests and torture of teacher union leaders.

As Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, we add our voice to calls for restoration of teachers’ preOctober 2018 salary of US$540.

The plight of teachers mirrors what is prevailing in the whole civil service as civil servants continue to live far below the PDL and we call upon the government to be sincere in addressing the plight of its workers.

We call upon parents to rally behind the cause of suffering teachers across the country and call the government to order.

Government must engage in genuine dialogue with teachers and desist from politicking and using divide and rule tactics to silence aggrieved workers.