Concern over unregistered schools

Heather Charema Mash West Correspondent
MASHONALAND West Province has a high number of unregistered schools, as new and makeshift satellite schools are being set up to service people in resettled and remote areas. Out of 1 171 primary and secondary schools in the province, 457 are not registered with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

This affects the quality of education as there is limited supervision, amid indications that there is reluctance by some acting headmasters to develop them so that they are formalised. Formal schools have substantive heads and a higher staff complement. Population distribution patterns changed following the historic land reform programme, resulting in greater demand for educational facilities. Mashonaland West provincial education director Mr Silvester Mashayamombe said they were concerned about the high number of unregistered schools in the area.

“We have the highest number of unregistered schools, mainly due to new schools in resettlement areas still undergoing construction. There are 714 registered primary, secondary and non-formal education schools in the province, while 457 schools are unregistered,” said Mr Mashayamombe. This comes as the province is also battling a deficit of 3 527 teachers for both primary and secondary schools.

Schools in remote parts of the province in districts such as Kariba, Makonde, Sanyati and Hurungwe are most affected by the shortage of teachers. At least 440 teachers were recruited this term to reduce the teacher deficit, which still remains high. The province is also experiencing a shortage of Early Childhood Development teachers following Government’s decision to introduce ECD education in line with the new curriculum.