Let’s honour the national pledge

Reciting of the national pledge will enable schoolchildren to cherish their Zimbabwean identity and value their heritage.

THE national pledge is an oath to Zimbabwe. The introduction of the national pledge in primary and secondary schools is a positive idea which must be put into practice by all schools nationwide. All schoolchildren are required to recite the national pledge. Reciting of the national pledge will enable schoolchildren to cherish their Zimbabwean identity and value their heritage. Schoolchildren are supposed to know the gains of the liberation struggle, history and cultural traditions. This will also enable them to inculcate national consciousness and patriotism.

However, it is worrisome to hear that teachers in Masvingo Province were criticising the introduction of the national pledge by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Those teachers were condemning Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora, saying the national pledge was a Zanu-PF mantra. Just like singing of the national anthem, reciting of the national pledge is a national vow.

It is pleasing to note that Zimbabwe is not the only country that is committed to reciting the national pledge. Already countries that include Singapore, Ghana and Nigeria are practising the national pledge.

In Nigeria, students began reciting the national pledge as early as 1976 while in Singapore, students were introduced to the national pledge in 1966. Written reports have it that students began reciting the national pledge before the start of each school day. It was also noted that the national pledge was initially recited mainly in classrooms. Since then, the national pledge has been recited during National Day occasions, National Day parades and at school assemblies.

Also, opposition legislators were reportedly querying the introduction and crafting of the national pledge in primary and secondary schools. However, the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Paul Mavhima, rightly explained how the national pledge was crafted.

According to Minister Mavhima, the words that are in the national pledge were obtained from the country’s Constitution. It is heartening that the country’s Constitution was crafted after extensive consultations by the opposition MDC parties and the ruling party Zanu-PF. Also, the national pledge is now part of the new curriculum. Minister Mavhima highlighted that consultations were also done in schools and parents were involved in crafting of the national pledge.

It is known that opposition parties have a tendency of opposing all Government programmes that have anything to do with patriotism. Patriotism has nothing to do with Zanu-PF but national interests. When Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao noted that Government was yet to introduce the National Youth Service, the opposition parties were at the forefront in criticising the same idea.

Additionally, the opposition parties were once again condemning National Strategic Studies (NSS), a subject of history and current affairs which is learned at colleges to instil patriotism in students colleges. Therefore, every Zimbabwean child should be committed to the national pledge.

A close look at the words in the national pledge reveals that they are not something that is linked to Zanu-PF. The pledge of allegiance for infant children in schools is recited as, “Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag, I commit to honesty and dignity of hard work”.

There is no single word in that pledge that is aligned to the revolutionary party.