Online Reporter
Debra Matabvu
Government is moving to decentralise the registration of primary and secondary schools to curb the growing number of illegally operating institutions and ensure that private players fully comply with national education standards, according to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerai Moyo.
Responding to questions in the Senate on Thursday, Minister Moyo said the decentralisation process will allow provincial offices to handle school registrations, a shift expected to speed up compliance and improve oversight.
He said Government continues to encourage private players to establish schools across the country to help ease the national deficit, estimated at about 1 900 to 2 000 schools.
The shortage has forced many learners, particularly in rural areas, to walk long distances to access education.
“The major challenge is some of these schools are not registered and are operating illegally,” he said.
“However, private schools are necessary because as a country, we have a shortage of schools.
“So we are encouraging individuals who want to operate schools to do so but they must do so within the confines of the law.
“As Government, we are working on ensuring that we decentralise the registration of schools from the head office to provincial offices.”
The Government has set December 31 as the final deadline for the closure of all unregistered schools that fail to regularise their operations in line with national education regulations.
