Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, [email protected]
THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and its development partners is this week conducting a nationwide schools assessment whose findings are expected to unlock funding to improve education quality in learning institutions.
The assessment programme starts today and ends on tomorrow where education officers will visit 19 districts across the country.
Development partners including policy makers will be part of the countrywide assessment programme.
In Bulawayo, the officials will visit Bulawayo Central and Reigate districts while in Matabeleland South they will visit schools in Gwanda and Umzingwane districts. In Matabeleland North, they will visit institutions in Binga and Hwange districts.
Primary and Secondary Education director of communications and advocacy Mr Taungana Ndoro said the exercise aims to gain a deeper understanding of school governance processes and identify areas for improvement to enhance the quality of education.
“The key objectives of the exercise are to evaluate the implementation of set protocols and minimum functionality standards in schools, identify challenges faced by schools and the education system, gather baseline data to inform programming, policy, and decision-making and determine the necessary interventions by the Government and partners to ensure sustainable education development,” said Mr Ndoro.
He said the stakeholders who will also join the education ministry officials include Campaign for Female Education CAMFED, World Bank, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), teachers unions, staff associations and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education among other stakeholders.
Mr Ndoro said while selected schools in 19 districts will be visited, the findings will be representative of all learning institutions at primary and secondary level.
“The monitoring teams will use a comprehensive assessment framework to examine various aspects of school functionality, including adherence to set protocols and minimum standards, governance and management processes, teaching and learning quality, student enrolment, attendance, and performance, infrastructure and resource availability and community engagement and support,” said Mr Ndoro.
“The joint monitoring visit is expected to provide valuable insights that will inform programming, policy, and decision-making.”
He said the assessment aims to establish baseline findings on the current state of school functionality across the country, identify challenges and gaps in the education system and proffer recommendations for targeted interventions by the Government and partners to address the identified issues.
Mr Ndoro said the exercise is expected to strengthen collaboration and coordination among stakeholders in the education sector.
“The ministry and its partners are committed to using the findings from this comprehensive monitoring exercise to drive sustainable improvements in the quality of education and ensure that all children in Zimbabwe have access to a robust and equitable learning environment,” said Mr Ndoro. — @nqotshili
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