Rural allowances seek equity

DC: Government wants to abolish the incentives at the earliest opportunity but for the meantime they are a necessary evil because the employer is not able to adequately pay teachers. In the short to medium term, though they are a burden to parents, this is the only way we can keep teachers in the classrooms.
There is no time frame as to when they will end but it is Government’s ability to pay salaries above the poverty datum line that will terminate incentives.

FS: Can we say Government admits failure to pay its employees and is passing on the responsibility to parents?
DC: We have always admitted that civil servants, teachers in particular are not being paid salaries that are commensurate with their services. We have failed yes, but for development to continue, a collective effort from parents, teachers and Government is needed.
The economic climate is not good and hope is hinged on the revenue from diamonds. It is our hope that this year everything will improve for the workers.

FS: And now a “broke” Government is talking of a rural allowance for educators. Is it feasible considering that the 2012 national budget has already been announced?
DC: We have to bridge the gap between rural and urban teachers and this is the only way to go. Historically, there used to be that allowance to minimise the gap. Indeed the budget has been presented but there should always be Plan B. There can always be new solutions and the Finance Ministry should do something because every country’s economy excels because of education, which depends on teachers.
The fact that Government has no money does not mean that we have to stop arguing and advocating for a rural allowance. It is difficult to get the money but it is our hope that the money will be available for rural teachers.

FS: But remember there are some in urban and peri-urban areas not getting incentives and there are also some in rural areas getting them. Is paying a rural allowance a solution or it will fuel the disparities already existing?
DC: This is not the remedy and a rural allowance will not completely create equity but we are saying it is a step towards making conditions equitable. The only equitable solution is found in the complete abolishment of incentives accompanied by the payment of a viable salary to the teacher by Government.
Sure some are getting it and others are not but the rural teachers have suffered most and that is why we believe they deserve an extra allowance.

FS: Teachers are threatening to strike when schools open next week. What are you going to do as a ministry?
DC: Their demands are genuine but they have to understand that nothing has changed economically. Government is still broke and cannot pay them what they want. I always believe that dialogue with the trade unions is the best way forward because a strike will destroy what we have built together.
Even my ministry has also been under-funded and if you look at the US$66 million we were promised in the 2011 budget, we only got a fraction, which is US$14,5 million. This makes it difficult for the ministry to do something for them.
My plea to them is that they should recognise that we are committed to their welfare. If you look at the Five-Year Education Strategic Plan that I will soon present to Cabinet, the top priority is their condition of service, which needs great improvement.

FS: Hundreds of schools have applied for permission to increase school fees but Government has turned down the applications. How will the schools operate since they are not getting enough support from Government? Will they not unilaterally increase school fees?
DC: The law is clear on that. Government sets fees for its schools and no one should overlap that. As for the private schools they also apply to the permanent secretary. By not raising the fees, Government has also considered that some people are failing to pay what is already there.
Education is not a preserve of the elite but every child’s right and no one should be blocked from school because of high fees. Those who go beyond the gazetted fees will face the law.

FS: It is the time of the year when most pupils are turned away for not paying school fees. What will parents do and what recourse do they have?
DC: For failing to pay fees, a pupil can be sent home but for levies, which are not set by Government, no one should be sent away. We have new education regulations that make it hard for school authorities who unlawfully send back people because of levies. Though I cannot disclose what sort of action, for the meantime parents should report to the Provincial Education Director and those caught will be brought to book.
Schools that are owed money by parents can take legal action and the courts will decide.

FS: What is the current teacher to pupil ratio since there have been shortages of teachers in schools in the past?
DC: You won’t believe it if I tell you that there is no accurate data since 2006 as to the number of teachers and pupils we have in schools. No one knows with certainty the number of qualified and unqualified teachers we have. When I took office the education management information systems had collapsed and it is something we are trying to rectify.
What is only known is that the urban areas have a higher proportion of qualified teachers as compared to rural schools, the reason being the disparities found in the education sector like incentives.
In Binga, I am aware of schools with hardly any qualified teacher. We acknowledge the shortage because the number of young people being attracted by the profession has deteriorated.
This is compounded by the fact that those qualified are working as waiters in neighbouring countries and it is difficult to track them back because of low remuneration. The solution to teacher shortages lies on the enhancement of the conditions of service for teachers.

FS: But reports are that some of those who returned under amnesty are being fired and some have not been paid two years after coming back?
DC: This is a policy I am not happy with but it has also been misrepresented. It is affecting mostly unqualified teachers. Their contracts used to be renewed automatically per term to avoid disruptions. I then received disturbing reports that they were not reinstated and I have directed my staff to liaise with the Public Service Commission because the shortages of teachers will continue to haunt us for time.
As for those who returned under amnesty, we are powerless because the Public Service Commission is responsible for employing and paying them but we want them back in the service.

FS: There are also shortages of schools in resettlement areas. What is Government doing to assist the pupils, some who are reportedly walking for more than 10 kilometres to school?
DC: Children resettled under the land reform programme cannot be prejudiced because a Government is broke. The shortage also affects those in communal areas. We have tried to have as many satellite schools as possible but the problem associated with the satellite schools is bad physical infrastructure.
We treat them the way we treat proper schools that is why they received the same number of textbooks in the textbook distribution exercise. We have to build proper schools but Government resources are depleted. Last year, a child from Mvurwi died after a tobacco ban that was being used as a classroom collapsed. This is a clear sign that something needs to be done urgently.

FS: You have been talking of reviewing the education curriculum. How far have you gone?
DC: If we are to do it properly, we have to carry out intensive consultations in all sectors of the economy. This is just like the constitution making process where we have to attend to all the needs of the nation.
But we got a grant of US$3m, hired an international expert and we are about to complete the first draft. It is our hope that the process would be complete soon.
FS: Some people have accused you of smuggling colonial policies into Zimbabwe’s education system. What is your response?
DC: That is political posturing not supported by facts my brother. Everything I do is done after consultations and in a transparent manner. We have achieved a 1:1 textbook ratio in schools.
There is no attempt to bring back anything colonial. I have actually gone beyond the colonial period by promoting the indigenous languages like Tonga.
FS: Lastly Minister where do you see the country’s education sector in five years?
DC: If we do not fund the education sector adequately then I remain fearful of where the sector will be in five years. All the success we have made as a nation will go down the drain. Everything is in a sorry state but we have to try by every means to direct many resources towards education.