adminMINISTER of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Lazarus Dokora ‘fired’ several warning shots at school heads attending the NASH conference at Troutbeck Inn in Nyanga on June 17, 2015.
Quickly getting to the point of his address, Dr Dokora stressed that the focus for all key stakeholders in education should be achievement of quality learning outcomes by every learner who enrolls with schools in Zimbabwe.
“All learners commit a lot of time and other resources over a number of years at school, and they do not deserve to leave any of our schools empty handed,” said the minister.
In a speech touching on a wide range of issues, Dr Dokora assured the school heads that he and they belonged to each other. He noted that they (school heads) were the fulcrum of the education system and as such their level of commitment and the ability to continuously examine oneself would impact positively on the outcomes the learners, entrusted to their care, would achieve.
In his marathon speech clinically informing, educating, clarifying issues, answering both asked and unasked questions, assuring and empowering, the minister did not forget to fire warning shots in the air.
“In order to offer access to education of good quality to all citizens, including those who dropped early from school for one reason or another, and those who never had the opportunity to attend school, every primary and secondary school is expected to offer both formal and non-formal education…both the head and the teachers receive allowances from the Public Service Commission (PSC). We are, however, having cases of double-dipping with some heads and teachers receiving allowances from the PSC and also getting paid locally. This should be avoided,” he emphasized.
“If such practices are picked up by auditors, the officers may face charges and the education system should not lose otherwise valuable heads and teachers owing to such temptations.”
Dr Dokora also warned that what is coming out from some schools are situations where collected fees and levies are not being utilised for the intended purposes.
“In the worst scenario cases that have come to our attention, schools have collected levies for up to ten years to build a school hall or purchase a school bus, but the buildings or the buses are not there, he revealed. He added that in some cases what is eventually built or purchased and the amounts collected are worlds apart,” Dr Dokora said.
“We have also witnessed the creation of shadow accounts that are known only to the head and one or two members of the School Development Committee (SDC) and these accounts are not handed over with the official account when a new SDC takes over. All legitimate school accounts should be visible,” he warned.
The Minister also reported that Government, through the State Procurement Board, had identified three companies from whom buses should be purchased.
“All school bus purchases should be coordinated through the Ministry to maximise on volumes and ensure transparency in the transactions. We have witnessed situations where the prices of buses are higher than those of new buses,” he emphasized.
This warning shot came in the backdrop of fertile rumours that some school heads are receiving fat brown envelopes for the back pocket from bus wheeler-dealers making a killing selling buses to schools and colleges countrywide. The public can only hope this is a genuine intervention to curb executive corruption in schools, and not the beginning of a war of who must get the brown envelopes, school heads or Government Procurement Board members.
Dr Dokora also expressed stakeholders’ perception that interviews for Form One and Five levels had become money spinning projects by unscrupulous school heads.
‘Sometimes the good name of hard-working heads can be tarnished by a few,” he warned. He was not equivocating or mincing his words. ‘This must stop!’ That was the message.
Dr Dokora concluded by saying that it was pertinent to recognise that the development of any nation was just as good as its education system and heads of schools are vital cogs in the implementation of education programmes
“Heads can make a telling contribution to the development of the nation by standing up to be counted in the efforts to exploit to the maximum potential of each child,” he said.
Expect more careful analysis and breakdown of the Minister’s speech to school heads at the NASH conference on 17 June 2015. It was too important to cover in one blanket report. Your columnist pledges more time and space, courtesy of The Manica Post, to careful follow ups of detail to the Minister’s august address to the august NASH conference. Don’t miss any one of them! More coming, item by item!
My name is Morris Mtisi. Call or Whatsapp me on 0773 883 293, emai: [email protected] on any of these issues. Iron sharpens iron. Let’s talk. Thinkers engage through constructive and intelligent discourse.
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