The Sunday Mail
Lincoln Towindo
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora continues to divide opinion.
Considered a reformer on one side of the aisle, he is also seen – in almost equal measure – as an inept public official with a flair for controversy and the unconventional by his critics.
His recent explanation that hard-pressed parents can use livestock or labour in lieu of school fees has sent tongues wagging.
This comes as no surprise, as Dr Dokora has elicited praise and anger since assuming the hot seat in September 2013.
As the man at the apex of policy-making for a portfolio affecting millions of Zimbabweans, his every action is always going to be under the microscope.
He assumed office just as Government was embarking on a curriculum review and the knives were already out before he settled at Ambassador House.
Dr Dokora was quick out of the blocks, introducing a raft of measures that changed the education landscape in the twinkling of an eye.
He banned extra lessons in schools, scrapped teachers’ incentives, abolished Civvies Day, and did away with Form One entrance tests.
He brought in the National Pledge and has hardly been out of the news for more than a day since September 2013.
The backlash has not slowed him.
A qualified communications expert, Dr Dokora has been caricatured as “Dr Dofora” by some, and hailed as a burst of positive energy by others.
On the issue of livestock and school fees, he told The Sunday Mail: “We are creating markets for our people so that they can sell whatever they have without prejudice.
“The items they can sell range from tomatoes, chicken, goats and other livestock.
“We are actually talking to my Rural Development counterpart, Minister Abednigo Ncube, to ensure rural district councils play a leading role to attract buyers.
“These are the public-private partnerships that we are talking about. All those women who go to Harare or Bindura are looking for markets to sell their produce in order to raise their children’s tuition fees.
“So, we are giving them the markets wherever they are.
“Most of the people who are criticising this noble initiative do not even have a chicken!”
Innovations such as new learning areas, foreign languages, life orientation skills and continuous assessment for pupils are widely viewed as game-changers in a country whose education system has been described in some circles as “advanced, but too academic”.
While the jury is still out on Dr Dokora’s performance, Zimbabwe will have an entirely new education system come 2021.
