All unregistered private schools will soon be closed as Government does not have mechanisms to ensure quality and inclusive education in those institutions, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerai Moyo has said.
Responding to inquiries from journalists during a Post
Cabinet briefing, Minister Moyo said all private schools ought to be registered
or else they will soon face closure. Minister Moyo said he will soon present a
paper before Cabinet that will see all unregistered schools being shut down.
“The Government plans to ensure that we establish as many
schools as possible because we have a deficit in terms of the number of
schools. The latest information is that we have a shortage of close to 2 800
schools.
“The shortage has seen the proliferation and mushrooming of
schools which we want to define as private,” said Minister Moyo.
“I have to be very clear, the private schools that we want
must be registered with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Those
that are mushrooming in the high-density suburbs in the majority of cases, are
illegal schools because they are not registered.
“They are operating illegally, in fact, we are going to
come up with a paper that I will present in Cabinet where we are going to
outlaw those schools, perhaps we might give them a grace period depending on
what Cabinet would have recommended. We are going to close all the illegal
schools operating illegally.”
He said all institutions providing education must meet
prescribed educational standards and the Ministry was unable to regulate an
institution if it is not registered with them.
“As a Ministry, we are supposed to ensure that there is
quality, equitable and inclusive education. But in the so-called private school
that we have seen, somebody will have a school in his or her backyard, and
learners are squeezed or jam-packed in a very small room and chances of
diseases spreading are high because the condition compromises quality.
“Those are the schools that we do not want. We want private
schools to be registered according to specifications of the Ministry where we
can control the quality,” said Minister Moyo.
Earlier on, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting
Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere said Minister Moyo and Home Affairs and
Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe presented progress reports made in
the implementation of priority projects for the 100-day cycle of 2024 under
their purview.
He said the progress report included registration of 40
newly built and existing satellite schools in all the provinces was on course
for completion by the end of the cycle, while upgrading of school
infrastructure, rehabilitation and upgrading of classroom blocks administration
offices, accommodation, water and sanitation hygiene facilities at 11 schools
were on course for completion by end of the cycle.
“The construction and conversion of 100 laboratories at
schools in Manicaland, Matabeleland North, Harare Metropolitan, Masvingo, and
Mashonaland provinces is on course for completion by the end of the cycle and
the construction of four sustainable and affordable boarding facilities in
Manicaland, Masvingo and Mashonaland East provinces to reduce walking distances
for learners is on course for completion by end of the cycle,” said Dr Muswere.
He said Minister Kazembe reported projects under his
purview that included the establishment of the Howard Mission Community Archive
in Mashonaland Central Province which is 20 percent complete and resource
mobilisation for the decentralisation of e-passport services to Gokwe South,
Midlands province is currently underway.
“The storyline of development and the collection
acquisition exercise in all wards have been conducted for the refurbishment of
Nambya Community Museum at Hwange, Matabeleland North Province; and 15 percent
of the overall works on the Online Border Management System has been
completed,” said Dr Muswere. Herald
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