Lecturers from Government universities are earning average
salaries of $25 000 a month beginning February this year and this has shocked
many civil servants including primary and secondary school teachers who are
earning less than one eighth of that amount at $3 000.
The Mirror obtained the figures from several lecturers who
spoke on condition of anonymity.
The lowest paid lecturer is getting $19 000 and the highest
who is the Vice Chancellor earns $55 000. Lecturers at most universities have a
first degree and a Masters and these are qualifications that are common in many
secondary and primary schools.
Teachers said there is no qualifications gap between them
and lecturers and insisted that teachers were actual professionals.
The new lecturers’ salaries are also way above medical
doctors who earn $6 000 a month.
The irony is that it takes around US$210 000 to train a
medical doctor and an average US$15 000 for one to study for a general degree
until one gets a doctorate, said a human resources expert who declined to be
named.
“The Zimbabwe Government has no scientific way of
determining salaries. There is no job evaluation. This is thumb suck,” said the
human resources expert.
The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation,
Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira said he is not
allowed to disclose specific salaries but described University lecturers’
salaries as very, very good.
He said he was now working on improving salaries for
Polytechnic lecturers through the creation of a Tertiary Education Council
(TEC) which will come through a Bill.
He said in future Universities will have to sustain their
salaries through production.
“We want the colleges and universities to become productive
and their salaries will depend on the level of productivity at each
institution,” he said.
The lecturers are not getting payslips for their new
salaries.
Zimbabwe Progressive Teachers’ Union president Takavafira
Zhou said while they welcome the lectures’ salaries there is need to ensure
that teachers are accorded decent wages.
Nurses are getting a basic salary of $RTGS4 000 and
Covid-19 allowance of $RTGS1 500, senior doctors are getting $RTGS6 000 basic
and $RTGS3 000 Covid-19 allowance. Doctors get a Higherlife allowance of about
$RTGS10 000 per month.
Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights secretary general, Dr
Norman Matara said civil servants salaries were poor across the board. He
blamed the Health Services Board for failing to negotiate decent salaries on
behalf of its members. Masvingo Mirror
0 comments:
Post a Comment