By Angelah Nothando Mlotshwa
Teachers Unions have described government’s announcement that it will roll out a state funded free education policy as a trick to attract attention ahead of this year’s harmonised elections.
“The free education effort is not starting this year. It has been building up for sometime. As for Matebeleland South I know that two districts Mangwe and Beitbridge pioneered the issue of free education and it was two districts across the country’s rural provinces where government was fully paying for learners”, said Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Edgar Moyo recently.
However, teachers unions said that the country’s education system is set to deteriorate because the government did not set aside enough funds in the budget to fund such an ambitious programme.
“Let me try to make you understand how the levies paid by parents are used, generally in the day to day running of a school.”
“1.For purchasing of stationary in the offices and that used by staff
- To buy textbooks for learners and the tools that are required by teachers for teaching and learning everyday. It includes but not limited to chalk, pens, charts etc
- Buying of equipment used for learning. Eg computers, tools for practical subjects like agriculture, science, sewing machines, art kits pots and pans and many more.
- Salaries for auxiliary staff”
“6. For sports activities, the balls, the equipment, the traveling, the uniforms/kits”, said Tafadzwa Munodawafa of the Educators Union of Zimbabwe in an interview with ZIM GBC NEWS.
“It’s quite a lot. So, when government says no one will pay school levies henceforth, who will meet these basic costs that are required to do the day to day business of the school? Who will pay the water bills? The electricity bill? Who will build the extra structure that is needed? Who will fund the buying of new furniture or the repair and maintenance of the same including the existing buildings?”, he added.
“The government has previously made promises such as these ones, but at the end of the day such programmes did not see light of day”, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe said.
Below we publish the full statement released by the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) President Obert Masaraure:
“This week the government claimed to have begun rolling the free education plans in the country . The claim to us came as dishonesty and propaganda because within the statements by Deputy Minister Of education Edgar Moyo exposed contradiction and election season narrativism.”
“Firstly the budget allocated ZWL$1.930 billion for tuition grants to support P3 and S3 schools. It is imperative to point out that these grants are not part of the social benefits grants which are provided for under Program 6, but are rather provided for under the Infant, Junior, and Secondary budgets. The tuition grants for 2023 have been allocated as follows: Infant Education ZWL$500 million, Junior Education ZWL$1 billion and Secondary Education ZWL$430 million. Enrollment in the country’s P3 schools (ECD A – Grade 7) is estimated to be around 2.7 million learners. An allocation of ZWL$1.5 billion for P3 Infant and Junior learners translates to a per capita allocation of ZWL$556 per learner per year, a seriously paltry figure which is below US$1 per child per year. This is another reflection that state funded education and the grant in aid of tuition program, are for now largely theoretical, and serve for political purposes rather than addressing the actual need which is creating unhindered access for all children regardless of income or household status.”
“A look at the above budgetary allocations viz the macro-economic situation show that the nation is still far from achieving state funded basic education. This is because the allocations fall short of addressing the constitutional provision, effectively, the proposed budget reflects a continued reliance on parents and families, who are likely to continue to bear the brunt of financing the Education Sector Programs. This signifies that government will continue to rely on user fees (levies) for the day-to-day school operations. Overall, the budget does not provide a clear mechanism on how the country will implement free state funded basic education. The government has made many pronunciations to this effect yet the reflections on the ground point to a different direction.”
“Mentioning BEAM reinforces the policy contradictions. Do we need BEAM when we have free education?”
“The meager allocations provided for under the tuition grants by far fall short of addressing state funded education even for P3 and S3 schools for a start. The Lack of a clear funding mechanism for a gradual move towards state-funded education further raises equity concerns. Parental contribution is likely to remain large with the capacity to finance education varying between family incomes. This will further exacerbate the already existing wide variation of actual spending per learner at school level which largely depends on household income. Students from poorer families are thus likely to continue facing the risk of dropping out and/or not completing school.