Last week, government said it would roll out free education
in phases, first targeting learners in marginalised rural areas before
spreading it across the whole sector.
A survey by NewsDay, however, revealed otherwise although
government insisted the roll out had started.
Speaking to NewsDay, union leaders called on government to
come clean on the free education policy.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz)
president Obert Masaraure said government should make deliberate efforts to
roll out a free education plan to support learning in marginalised communities.
“Learners in various schools paid fees and those from
vulnerable backgrounds still relied on the Basic Education Assistance Module,
(Beam). Only 45% of learners in rural schools paid their tuition fees in full,
schools are relying on Beam disbursement to fund operations and it is important
to mention that these disbursements take long and are insufficient to sustain
the term,” he said.
Government has for years been struggling to pay fees on
time for thousands of learners under its Beam programme and for teachers’
children.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president
Takavafira Zhou said government had no capacity to provide free education.
“Any insinuation to free education is nothing more than
grandstanding, political expediency, and homiletic bellicose. Free education
calls for payment of US$50 per term for every student, and considering that we
have 5,7 million learners in public schools, it is clear that at this
historical juncture the government cannot offer free education,” Zhou said..
“Against the Dakar Framework that calls for allocation of
over 20% of total budget to education, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary
Education only got 14% of total budget, which is far less to run free education
in Zimbabwe,” he said.
In December last year, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said
free education would take time to implement, pointing out that government would
not be in a position to implement the programme in January.
In the Primary and Secondary Education ministry vote, Ncube
allocated $631,3 billion (US$976 million) towards providing quality infant,
junior and secondary education.
The bulk of the allocation will, however, go towards
teachers’ salaries and other learning cost.
Zhou added: “Government must ensure that education is a right
to all students in Zimbabwe, and at best is accessible to and affordable by
many students. There is an urgent need to allocate adequate resources for free
education, and minimise corruption. It is, therefore, unfair to send children
home for failure to pay fees, and schools must engage parents in order to make
payment plans for fees.”
Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson
Taungana Ndoro, however, said the free education initiative had gathered
momentum.
He said about 1,5 million learners from schools across the
country were benefitting.
“It’s actually called Basic State Funded Education where we
are providing tuition fees to all our vulnerable and underprivileged learners.
We are expecting that the number will increase gradually as we move towards a complete basic state funded education,”
he said.
He said no school is allowed to send away a child for non
payment of fees.
“The school is supposed to have engagements with parents.
No learner should have interrupted education. The parents should approach the
school to negotiate when having challenges,” Ndoro said.
In 2020, President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed into law the
Education Amendment Act which compels the State to provide free basic education
in line with the provisions of section 27 of the Constitution.
Analysts have rubbished Mnangagwa’s free education pledge
saying it is a political gimmick aimed at hoodwinking citizens to voting for
him and the ruling Zanu PF party in the upcoming elections. Newsday
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