The Sunday Mail
Parents will from 2016 pay for construction of new primary and secondary schools, as well as rehabilitation of existing ones.
This initiative aims to decongest urban schools and create conducive learning environments in resettlement areas. The Primary and Secondary Education Ministry projects US$120 million will be raised yearly by levying the four million pupils at learning institutions countrywide.
This money will repay building loans while addressing Zimbabwe’s 2 056-school deficit.
Construction will be on a build-operate-transfer arrangement, with Government collecting a percentage of school development levies.
Authorities are yet to determine the sum each pupil will contribute.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Primary and Secondary Educaiton Deputy Minister Professor Paul Mavhima said:
“We want to introduce a Building Fund under which every student will contribute towards repaying those loans. It should be clear that we are not increasing tuition fees.
“If a school were charging, say, US$50 for development, then Government will only take US$10. This Fund will be a permanent and revolving facility, which will help retain our robust education system. The idea came from a conference in 2013 where companies proferred various ideas.
“Some wanted to give us money to build and this money would be payable over 10-15 years. South African and Chinese firms have expressed interest, and at some point, we will have to repay the money we will have borrowed from financial institutions.”
University of Zimbabwe economics lecturer Mr Tichaona Zivengwa said though well-intended, parents were likely to shoulder most of the programme’s weight.
“It is possible that schools might put the burden on parents. In our economic environment, some parents might end up unable to send their children to school.
“In addition, there is need for transparency in administering this Fund. I don’t think there would be any problem if the money were directed to its intended purpose effectively.”
Respected educationist Dr Caiphas Nziramasanga – who headed the 1999 Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training – advised there be effective checks and balances.
“There is need for transparency where such kinds of funds are concerned as corruption has for some time been reported in schools and other public institutions. What guarantee do we have that the funds will not be misused? This is a delicate matter that needs careful handling.”
Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association chief executive Mr Sifiso Ndlovu commended Government but cautioned against “privatising education”.
He said: “It is the responsibility of Government to provide schools, but building schools and placing them in the hands of the private sector will contradict with the notion of “Basic Education For All”.
“I am against the BOT model because by placing schools in the hands of private companies, we are already privatising education. I hope it is a well-researched initiative.”
Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe president Dr Takavafira Zhou added: “Government should have consulted widely so as to come up with the best model. This lack of consultation might, in the end, hamper transparency.”
Since Independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has prioritised learning, expanding formal education from early childhood care and development through to university.
In the first decade of majority rule, Government focused on educational equality in keeping with its principle of “Education for All”. It then followed up with major teacher training programmes, among them the Zimbabwe Integrated Teacher Education Course.
The number of schools almost doubled between 1980 and 1985 – from 2 401 to 4 324 – and primary school enrolment reached 2 460 323 in 2001. Secondary school enrolment leapt from 66 215 in 1979 to over 800 000 by 1999.
As of 2013, Zimbabwe had 8 149 public primary and secondary schools.
Still, there is growing demand for primary and secondary education and communities in resettlement areas have resorted to makeshift classrooms.
At present, the Primary and Secondary Education Ministry relies on the fiscus to deliver education a small national cake means there is not enough to go around Government’s table.
The Building Fund has previously been used to construct and upgrade school infrastructure.
Zim-Asset’s Infrastructure and Utilities Cluster prioritises “speedy construction of schools in rural, urban and newly resettled farming areas in order to decongest existing school infrastructure”.
The blueprint reads, in part, “Whilst the nation prides itself with a literacy rate of 92 percent, there is need to ensure that schools are built and equipped particularly in the new resettlement areas. The sector still faces a challenge of a curriculum that does not match the developmental needs of the country.”
The United Nations Development Programme states that Zimbabwe has achieved a male literacy rate of 94,2 percent and 87,2 percent for females. The national literacy rate is 90,7 percent.
The country ranks first in male literacy, second in female literacy and first in total literacy in Southern African.
It is Africa’s most literate nation with a 92 percent rate, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (2014).
